


Get A Say

by when_you_know_you_know



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Chloe Beale's Daughter, F/F, Forbidden Love, Secret love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-07 05:19:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17359745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/when_you_know_you_know/pseuds/when_you_know_you_know
Summary: Chloe tells her teenage daughter that she’s started seeing the girl’s Godmother…romantically.





	1. Surprise..

Briar-Rose Walp stormed into her bedroom furiously, slamming the door behind her before bursting into tears. This was  _so_  unfair. All of it! Her Mom. Her ‘Aunt Beca’. Her frikkin  _life_. It felt like it had all been a lie.

The fourteen year old stormed over to a collection of photos her mother had had professionally framed for her last year for her thirteenth birthday:

A photo of her father in his uniform, handsome as always.

A photo of him, her and her mother, the three of them with their signature broad dazzling smiles.

A photo of her mother and father on their wedding day. A ‘shotgun’ wedding apparently - because Chloe had found out she was pregnant with Briar.

A photo of just Briar and her mother, looking almost identical as always, taken a couple of years ago when they’d gone on an impromptu road trip to LA - posing in front of the ‘Hollywood’ sign - a photo that Aunt Beca had taken because  _she’d_  been the one they’d gone to visit..

Then finally a photo of her mother taken when the woman had been in college, stood with her best friends - The Barden Bellas. This particular photo had Brair’s blood boiling the most. There was this way her mother had been looking at her Aunt Beca even back then in this very photo that should’ve raised enough alarm bells in Briar’s head. Her mother had been in love with her since college??

The teen scrunched her face up in anger, picking that particular frame up and throwing it to the floor beside her, the glass breaking everywhere. Then in a mix of anger at the situation and upset that she’d broken a frame that her mother had actually spent a lot of the little ‘spare’ money she had having the framing done, Briar threw herself face first onto her large bed and bawled loudly into her bedcovers.

**—[Moments earlier..]—**

“You alright there?” Briar asked her mother with an amused grin on her face, “You seem a bit hung up on something.”

Briar watched as her mother stopped her pacing in the kitchen that the teen was sat in while she patiently waited for dessert to finish cooking. Chloe looked tense. Concerned about something. And she watched as her mother let out a deep shaky breath as though having finally composed herself enough to say what was on her mind.

“ _Hokay_..” Chloe whispered under her breath before taking a few strides forward to sit at the seat she always sat at, beside her daughter at the head of the table. “You know your Aunt Beca?”

Briar grinned with a slightly furrowed brow, “Well yeah, she  _is_  my Godmother.”

Briar was close to her favourite Aunt. The one who had always been there for every birthday and Thanksgiving. The one who would send her a text every Wednesday to check how she was getting on with school. The one who came over to Georgia every third Thursday for a long weekend so she could take her to and from school on the Friday then hang out with her and her mom on the weekend. Her Aunt Beca was a coolest. A hot-shot record producer in LA. She’d produced some of the biggest selling records in recent history.

She watched as Chloe took another shaky nervous breath and Briar began to feel a bit nervous. Why was her Mom acting so weird?

“Well…” Chloe choked out, pausing to clear her throat before looking over at her daughter seriously, “…she and I have been getting a lot closer in recent months. Especially since your Dad left me.”

Briar still couldn’t quite get her head around why her Dad had left. He still loved her mother. She  _knew_  it. She just had to try to chat to him about it. To tell him to leave the woman he’d left his marital home for and come back to them instead. She was sure her father would do it. He was loyal like that.

“And…” Chloe paused to swallowed loudly, clearly trying to keep her nerves at bay, “…your Aunt Beca and I have actually started… _seeing_ each other. Romantically.”

The teen froze, her eyes wide in shock while her mouth dropped open slightly. Sure, her Aunt Beca had changed her schedule from visiting every third Thursday for a long weekend to almost every Thursday for a long weekend. But Briar had had no idea it was because she and her Mom had started  _dating_!

“What?” Briar blurted, her brow knitting again. She was confused. In what way had her mother and Godmother ever given any indication that they were romantically involved?

“I-I know it’s difficult to..to take in, sweetheart.” Chloe stumbled over her words slightly, reaching out to try to place an assuring hand on her daughter’s shoulder but Briar flinched away from her touch.

“Difficult to take in??”

The sound of a chair scraping backwards echoed around the kitchen as Briar quickly rose to her feet, looking her mother in the eye while her face screwed up slightly.

“Aunt Beca’s someone I’ve been able to trust my whole life. Someone who has been like another mother to me. And now you’re telling me that you and her have been screwing each other behind my back??”

Chloe winced at the use of the word ‘screwing’ - the times she and Beca had spent in bed together hardly being something that could be described so casually as the two of them just ‘screwing’.

“Can’t you see how messed up this is?!” Briar cried out, tears brewing in her eyes while her chest tightened. She was beginning to panic and her head was swimming. “My Godmother turned My Mother  _gay!”_

She looked down at Chloe while the older woman pinched the bridge of her nose. She felt betrayed. Almost as though her mother’s years spent with her father had all been a lie. That she herself had been born a lie.

“How long has this been going on for?” Briar asked, hardly wanting to know the answer. Years probably. She wouldn’t be surprised if her mother had been secretly seeing her Godmother since they had been in college or something. That her dating then falling pregnant and quickly marrying Chicago had been some sort of cover-up for the  _true_ romance in her life, with her best  _female_  friend.

“Three months.” Chloe revealed, swallowing loudly before looking up at her daughter apologetically.

Briar hesitated. Okay she definitely hadn’t expected it to only be that long. Her mother and Beca had always been very close. Had always had this way of somehow being able to communicate things without even talking they knew each other that well.

“It-It wasn’t full on from-from…from the start.” Chloe stuttered, clearly panicked herself at her daughter’s reaction, “We were just  _dating_  for a bit to see if-if it could work!”

“Oh and it  _is_  working now I suppose? You decided you should probably  _say_  something?”

“Well it’s not like this whole situation would’ve gone down any better if I’d told you from the start that ‘your Aunt Beca and I may or may not be in love with each other so we’re going to test it out and see if we are’!” Chloe snapped, clearly scrabbling for words that might explain the situation and the reason behind her decision. But the teen before her was still struggling with the news.

“In  _love_?!” Briar screeched, her eyebrows rising so high they almost met her hairline. “And you’re  _seriously_  trying to convince me that this is a  _new_  thing?? That you  _haven’t_  been seeing her behind Dad’s back?”

“I  _haven’t_!” Chloe tried to protest, but the fourteen year old was done. She turned on the spot and began storming out of the kitchen. “Wh-Where are you going?” Chloe called after her, but she heard her daughter’s footsteps thundering up the staircase and after a couple of moments a bedroom door slamming shut.

——

Briar brought her head up from her bedsheets, her crying having subsided for the moment. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been up in her room for. But she wasn’t feeling any better for the cry. She wasn’t feeling any better having smashed one of her photo frames.

She heard a knock at the front door of the house and held her breath. Within seconds the door was answered and she heard her mother burst into tears, muffled by the visitor who Briar assumed had enveloped her mother in a hug.

The teen slid off her bed, creeping to her bedroom door as quietly as possible. She could hear her mother bawling and the visitor gently shushing her in a comforting tone.

With another deep breath, the young redhead pulled her door slowly open, and crept towards the staircase while the sound of her mother’s sobbing moved to the lounge. Briar Rose silently slunk down a few of the stairs, then sat down, listening hard to the conversation being had in the room opposite the staircase.

“She  _hates_  me, Beca.” Briar heard Chloe blub, and the teen’s chest tightened when she heard her Godmother’s voice for the first time since being told the recent news.

“She doesn’t hate you, Chlo.” Beca replied in a soothing tone. Briar peered between the banisters, and saw through the open door of the lounge that her mother and Godmother were sat together on one of the couches: Chloe with her hands in Beca’s lap, holding one of Beca’s hands while the brunette used her other hand to curl back some of Chloe’s wild red hair behind her ear.

“She does.” Chloe insisted with a loud sniff, tears still rolling down her face, “You were right. I should’ve told her sooner.”

Briar furrowed her brow. Her Godmother had insisted her mother say something sooner?

“I should’ve just come straight out with it and told her that I loved you and-and that I realised it a long time ago but was too chicken to-to say anything.”

Chloe appeared to be in quite a state, having to pause every so often to take an extra breath she was so worked up. But Briar noted how unusually affectionate her Godmother was. How Beca kept quietly, softly shushing her. How she affectionately cupped Chloe’s cheek from time to time to wipe the tears from her skin.

“What if she runs away??” Chloe burst suddenly, and Briar saw an expression on her mother’s face that she’d never seen before. She looked…terrified. “What if she decides she can’t live with me because I want to be with you and-and she never talks to me again?”

“That’ll never happen.” Beca replied softly and Briar felt her mood darkening. Sure, her godmother knew her well. Probably better than most. But the woman wasn’t exactly in a position to be able to dictate what she would or wouldn’t do. Maybe she  _would_  run away!

Beca seemed to take a deep breath, looking at Chloe sadly just as Chloe looked back up at her. Briar noticed a tear rolling down her Godmother’s cheek.

“I’ll stay away.”

Chloe let out a sharp gasp, clinging that little bit harder to Beca’s hand, “No! I…” she paused to let out a shaky sigh and Briar’s darkness slowly seeped from her body as her mother blubbed, “…I’ve waited twenty years to be with you.”

The teen hesitated. She wasn’t overly sure what the woman meant by that. Had they promised each other they’d one day be together? Had her mother always fawned after Beca? Had Beca always fawned after Chloe?

“I know.” Beca replied with a sigh of her own, lightly resting her forehead against Chloe’s, “I’ve been waiting for twenty years too.” There was a pause as both the older women sniffed, Beca’s hand having dropped to cover Chloe’s hands with her palm, their fingers entwining while they looked down at them.

“ _I’m so in love with you_.” Chloe whispered, Briar having just managed to hear the words. Words that were spoken so softly. So full of disappointment and sadness. The teen could never remember her mother ever talking like that to her father.

“I’m so in love with you too.” Beca replied, her voice quivering because she’d also begun crying, tears slipping down her own cheeks, “But Briar’s happiness is way more important than our own Chlo, and you know that.”

There was another pause while Chloe let out a shaky sigh, sniffing loudly as she brought her head back from Beca’s to look at her sadly. Briar felt a lump in her throat. She’d been mad at her Mom. Mad at her Godmother. She was still upset with them. But it was always difficult seeing her mother cry.

Chloe nodded slowly, just as Beca reached up to brush away the tears on her cheek, and the brunette cupped Chloe’s cheek while they looked into one another’s eyes sadly.

“I’ve waited twenty years, babe.” Beca said in an affectionate, watery tone, “And I’ll wait another twenty, fifty,  _one hundred_  more years if I have to.” Briar watched as a sad smile spread on her mother’s face, while her Godmother added, “We’ll be together some day. When people are a little more ready to accept it. Then we’ll be able to go out together in public with no fears and no obstacles.”

Briar had had enough. She didn’t like seeing her mother this upset. But she also felt ashamed for causing this particular upset. Most people would’ve gone downstairs to apologise. But Briar Rose, being the teen that she was, slowly rose from the stair she was sat on, and made her way quietly back to her bedroom.

The lump in her throat still remained and her stomach had a huge knot in it. But with a trembling hand she took hold of her phone, took a deep breath and texted her Godmother.

**_I know you’re here. Come up to my room. I’ve gotta ask you stuff x_ **


	2. Comfort

“I’ve waited twenty years, babe. And I’ll wait another twenty, fifty,  _one hundred_  more years if I have to.”

Beca paused, looking deep into Chloe’s teary blue eyes while a sad smile spread across her face. She hated seeing Chloe cry. And she hated this heartbreak she felt in her body. Life was so unfair. Sure, she had an incredible career and best friends she’d known since college. But to have finally found out that the woman she loved was also in love with her only for them to come across a massive obstacle which meant they couldn’t be together forever liked they’d dreamt…it was the worst feeling in the world.

“We’ll be together some day. When people are a little more ready to accept it. Then we’ll be able to go out together in public with no fears and no obstacles.”

Beca ended her sentence having to swallow loudly. She hadn’t ever planned on crying. But this new reality and their future being rewritten again meant that her emotions had overwhelmed her body, and the brunette had begun quietly crying the moment her soulmate had burst into tears. They would be together one day. She just  _knew_  it. It was just hugely unfair that they would have to wait again.

Chloe reached out to cup her cheek, and Beca closed her eyes at the woman’s touch. The past three months had been incredible. Everything she’d ever dreamt of and more. Chloe had been her usual kind, attentive self, but the addition of kisses and cuddles and whisperings of sweet nothings in one another’s ears had been a wonderful added bonus. They were head over heels for each other. Completely besotted. Entirely consumed by the love they could finally give to and receive from one another.

Beca had seen her future with Chloe. With Briar too - having always been close to Chloe’s daughter since birth. She’d figured it’d be a bit of shock for the teen. But she hadn’t expected Briar to blow up quite like Chloe said she had. Briar-Rose had always been a gentle kid, her temperament and kindness and quirkiness matching that of her mother’s. And Beca had found it an absolute joy to watch her grow up.

“We’ll still remain best friends, right?” Chloe sobbed, and Beca opened her eyes, nodding gently while squeezing Chloe’s other hand in her lap affectionately.

“Of  _course_. We’ll let Briar calm down a bit. Then we can tell her we-“ Beca paused to let out a shaky sad sigh, tears welling up in her eyes again, hating what she was about to say, “-that we won’t be dating any more. We’ll just go back to being friends.”

“And you’ll still come over every third Thursday for the weekend?”

Beca reached up to cover the back of Chloe’s hand with her own - the hand that still cupped her cheek - and she forced a small smile onto her face to try to show some sort of strength, “Try and stop me.”

The two best friends looked into one another’s eyes again, then with another couple of breaths dove their faces towards one another, sharing one final long deep kiss, their eyes squeezed closed while tears slipped down their cheeks, the liquid pooling between their lips.

“I love you so so much!” Chloe mumbled into Beca’s mouth while they changed the angle of their faces, quickly resuming the kiss.

Beca’s hands had found their way into Chloe’s lap, smoothing her palms towards her hips and gripping them gently, never wanting this moment to end. She couldn’t imagine the future that lay ahead of them…kiss-less.

“I love you so so much too.” she mumbled back, her body quaking she’d begun to cry so hard and she felt Chloe burst into tears again while they kissed.

Suddenly a recognisable light ringtone sounded, and the two immediately broke their kiss, looking over at Beca’s phone which lay on the small table in front of the couch. Their brows furrowed. That was Briar’s text-tone.

Beca’s heart jumped into her throat. Shit. What the hell had Briar said? Was she angry? Of course she was probably angry. But how was she going to purvay this anger?

Chloe’s hand dropped from Beca’s face just as the brunette began reaching over for her phone and she held her breath while watching her soulmate looking down at the device to read the message.

“She…she knows I’m here. She wants to talk to me in her room.” Beca said in a confused tone, sniffing loudly while holding her phone out to show Chloe.

**I know you’re here. Come up to my room. I’ve gotta ask you stuff x**

“Well at least she ended it with a kiss?” Beca added in a hopeful tone. But Chloe looked up at her with a worried expression.

“ _What if she kills you_?” She whispered and Beca couldn’t help but let out an amused chuckle.

“Wha-hat? No way.” She smiled gently while the woman she loved looked at her seemingly unconvinced, “Look, she probably just wants to ask me the exact same things she asked you. She probably wants to see if it all matches up.”

Beca reached up and gently cupped Chloe’s cheek, looking into her eyes affectionately, “I’ll listen to her. I’ll let her yell at me and get everything out of her system. It’ll be okay.”

There was a pause before Chloe finally, slowly nodded her head. Then Beca took a deep breath, placed one final kiss on Chloe’s lips, before standing up from the couch. As she left the room her heart raced with nerves.

Briar was an angry teenager. Beca remembered those feelings all too well. Her own father had left the marital home when she’d been thirteen years old. She’d been  _so_  angry with him. It’d taken Beca three years to kinda forgive him and make amends. Now they were on very good terms.

Beca wondered if this latest news was just another nail in Briar’s emotional coffin. The teen had been through a major upheaval over the past eighteen months, thanks to Chicago leaving Chloe only to move in with a woman he’d been secretly seeing in Portland for over five years whenever he returned from duty. The final straw had been when both Chloe and Briar found out he had two young children with that woman too. The man had been living a double life. And Beca had never wanted to hurt someone so much in her life as much as she had wanted to hurt him.

The brunette slowly made her way upstairs, towards Briar’s bedroom. She hoped the teen hadn’t done anything irrational in her fury. She hoped the teen was safe and unharmed.

As she paused outside Briar’s bedroom door she took a deep shaky breath, swiped her fingers over the skin beneath her eyes in the hope her makeup hadn’t smudged too much. Then brought a hand to the door to knock on it gently.

After a couple of moments Briar could be heard saying seriously, “Come in.”

And Beca held her breath as she gently pushed her way into the bedroom..


	3. Questions

Beca slipped into the bedroom, her heart hammering away against her chest. She had never had a moment when she’d felt scared of her Goddaughter before. But right now she was.

She quietly closed the door over behind her and looked over to the bed. There, sat on the edge with her back to her, was Briar. The teen didn’t turn to look at her and that was what made Beca feel all the more uncomfortable.

Since the kid had been tiny her little face had always lit up the second she’d caught sight of her Aunt Beca. Briar-Rose and Beca had always been thick as thieves. And Beca knew it had brought so much joy to Chloe’s life. A life where her husband had always spent more time stationed away with the military than at home with her and their daughter.

Beca would be lying if she didn’t admit that she’d always imagined what it might be like if Chloe had left Chicago and moved to LA with Briar to be with her. So they could finally be together. A happy little family. Just the three of them. Unfortunately Chicago had ended up sucker-punching all of them and to Beca’s dismay, the man’s actions had caused some serious trust issues to swing to the forefront of his wife and daughter’s minds. She’d never known Chloe to cry so much. She’d never known Briar to be so quiet.

The room remained silent, and after a few moments the brunette slowly made her way over to the bed, taking a couple of breaths to try to steady her nerves. Then she tentatively took a seat beside her Goddaughter, letting out a sigh while looking out ahead of them.

Opposite was a closet door with photos stuck all over it. Some were of Briar and her friends from school. Some were of Briar pictured with celebrities she’d met through Beca (Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Eminem, to name a few..). Some were of Briar posing with her Aunts - The Bellas. Some were of Briar pictured with just her Aunt Beca, or just with her mother.

Beca felt a lump in her throat. In every one of those photos Briar was smiling her signature smile - the one she’d inherited through her mother. But Briar wasn’t smiling right now. And Beca felt awful about it.

“I feel betrayed.” were the first words to leave Briar’s mouth, and Beca took a deep breath in through her nose. “I’m supposed to be able to trust you. And all along you’ve had this secret agenda of trying to get to my Mom.”

Beca could see why the teen would think this. She’d been secretly in love with Chloe for almost as long as she’d known the woman. For around twenty years. And sure she’d imagined what it might be like to end up with her, but she’d never expected it to happen. Not until that evening when she and Chloe has been sat comfortably together on the couch watching some cooking show, and thanks to the wine they’d consumed Chloe had casually thrown out there that she felt like recently they’d become more like a couple than just friends. Talk had led to their first kiss and Beca hadn’t looked back since. Chloe was it. Chloe had  _always_  been it.

“It was never an agenda, Pickle.” Beca replied quietly, using the nickname she’d always used, still not looking at her Goddaughter because Briar didn’t look at her, “Your Mom and I…we…there’s always been… _something_  between us. That we never really knew how to explain. Not to ourselves. Not to each other. We could just sense it.”

Beca scrunched her nose up. She wasn’t really explaining things very well. She wouldn’t be surprised if Briar turfed her out of the bedroom right now.

“When your Dad left, I was  _so_  angry with him.” Beca was wringing her hands a little, her palms sweaty she was still nervous, “Because you’re…my  _family_. I love you like a daughter and I love your Mom like…” she paused, swallowing loudly instead of uttering the words ‘a wife’, “…and I’m really protective of you guys. That’s why I started to visit more. And your Mom must’ve felt it too because we then talked about what we were and how close we’d gotten and how happy our weekends with you were and…”

Beca ran out of things to say. So instead she took a deep shuddering breath. She and Chloe had become so happy together. Finally openly in love. During the days that Beca visited, the moment Briar went up to bed, Beca and Chloe would crack the wine open and curl up in front of the TV together: making out from time to time, melting into one another’s arms, chatting about how perfect their lives felt now they were finally together, reminiscing about their days in college and moments when they both realised they secretly loved each other. Beca would spend the nights staying in Chloe’s bed instead of the guest bedroom - both having always got up before the teen who loved to sleep until late morning on a weekend.

“Why are you here?” Briar asked, and Beca turned to her Goddaughter as the teen turned to her, “I mean it’s  _Wednesday_! It’s a whole day before you usually come here.”

Beca looked into the girl’s eyes that bore into hers, full of questions and old tears that were still hanging around. Briar had been crying, Beca could tell. And it killed her that she was the cause of them.

“Your Mom told me she was going to tell you tonight about me and her. I wanted to be here to support her. To support you. To be about in person just in case you had any questions.”

There was a pause as Briar seemed to take this answer in. From the looks of her expression it hadn’t been the answer she’d been expecting. So it took her a little longer to process.

“I hate that Dad never answered my questions.” The teen eventually said in a quiet tone, and Beca did everything within her power not to reach out and smooth a hand reassuringly across the girl’s back as she had done plenty of times in the past when Briar has needed comforting. She watched as the teen turned to the wall of framed photos beside her, looking up in particular at Chicago’s solo photo.

“I texted him a load once. Asking him why he’d chosen that woman instead of us. Why he’d kept it a secret for so long. Why he’d kept coming back to us after each tour when he was doing something so wrong.” Beca felt her chest tighten as she remained silent listening to her Goddaughter intently. It was the most she’d heard Briar say about her father since he’d left. Even Chloe had told Beca that Briar never mentioned Chicago. This was important. “He never answered them. He never answered my calls either. Just sent a card at Christmas and a card on my birthday.”

Briar-Rose let out a heavy sigh, adding a sad, “So much of me wonders if he ever even loved me.”

Beca swallowed loudly. She’d never been good at hearing people talk about their feelings back in the day. Back in high school and college. But being best friends with Chloe had changed that. Beca had changed for the better.

“He loved you, dude.” Beca said kindly, and she watched as her Goddaughter turned to her with a sad expression on her face. Beca’s heart lurched. It was never easy seeing this kid unhappy. “I was there when you were born. The look on his face the second he held you…that was the look of unconditional love.”

“Yeah but  _you_  were there when I was born too. You’ve been just as present in my life as he has. And yet  _he_  was the one who decided to leave us. My own father. Mom’s  _husband_. If he really had loved us he wouldn’t have left…” Briar’s sentence trailed off and Beca felt her stomach flip with sadness at how upset the teen looked.

They both looked out at the photos on the closet door. Both quiet. Both lost in their own thoughts.

The situation sucked. And what sucked the most was how screwed up Briar probably felt. It was obvious she internally blamed herself for some reason. So Beca made a mental note to try to help her Goddaughter out of that turmoil. But it would take time. For now she needed to get back on side with her.

“So do…you have any questions? For me?” Beca asked tentatively. She knew the teen was bound to, but she wanted to throw the ball into her court to give her the opportunity to ask.

“That depends.” Briar replied, and Beca furrowed her brow for a moment, turning to see that the fourteen year old was already looking at her. There appeared to be a look of concern on her Goddaughter’s face and Beca worried about what that concern might be. But she needn’t have worried for long, because Briar quickly added, “Are you sticking around? Or are you gonna leave like Dad did..”

“Well that’s all down to you, Pickle.” Beca said in a calm tone, though her heart was hammering against her chest. What if the teen sent her away? She didn’t want to leave. But then she knew she had to move to the beat of her Goddaughter’s drum to stay on side, “Do you want me to stay? Or do you want me to leave?”

She watched with baited breath as the girl hesitated, and Beca’s stomach dropped while the seconds ticked on. What the hell was Briar going to decide?


	4. Peace Offering

“I don’t want you to leave.” Briar admitted, staring back at her Godmother, “But…I don’t think I’ll feel comfortable with you being…you know…all  _coseyed up_  with Mom.”

She thought she’d have yelled angrily at the woman the second Beca had arrived in her room. But no sooner had Beca sat beside her, Briar realised she didn’t know how to get angry with her Godmother. She’d never had reason to. So instead she’d taken her time with her words. She’d taken the time to listen to the woman’s explanations and answers. And the more she listened, the less angry the teen became.

“That’s fair.” Beca replied with a small nod, “Your Mom and I agreed we’d stop seeing each other if you wanted us to.”

Briar hesitated. She didn’t know what she wanted any more. At this moment in time she couldn’t see what their life would possibly be like if her Mom and Godmother remained in a  _romantic_  relationship. But then she couldn’t see what it’d be like if they parted.

“I don’t really know what I want at the moment.” she admitted quietly, looking down at her hands. She wasn’t used to choices being her decision. Certainly not choices as big as this. Fortunately her Godmother has always been kind to her. And patient.

“Hey that’s alright, Pickle.” Beca said in a soft tone, nudging the teen with her elbow, “You take as long as you need.” Briar looked back over at the woman, feeling a tiny bit easier about the whole thing now she was being given some time, “And your Mom and I will just…be friends.” Beca added with a shrug.

The room fell silent as both Beca and Briar looked out at the space around them, lost in their thoughts. Briar wondered how easily her mother and Godmother would find it - going back to being ‘just friends’ again. From the sounds of things they’d waited so many years to be together. Could they definitely wait for the time Briar needed to come to terms with all this? Or would the wait just break them apart? Would life change  _again_  for Briar and Chloe? This time with the most important person in their world leaving them: Beca.

“You get a bit angry?” Beca asked, motioning to the smashed photo frame near them. Briar felt her cheeks flush slightly in embarrassment. She’d never got so angry that she’d broken something before. Particularly something that her mother had spent so much money on.

“Oh, um…yeah.” Briar mumbled, looking at the broken glass, “Yeah. Mom’s gonna be so upset.”

“That’s alright.” Beca replied in a calm voice and the teen turned to her Godmother while Beca gave her a kind smile, “I’ll get it fixed for you. She won’t know a thing.”

Briar couldn’t help the tiny twitch of a smile that poked in the corners of her mouth, one that came automatically at the sight of Beca’s smile. Her Godmother had always strived to make her happy. Had always done everything within her power to  _keep_  her happy. And although the teen still felt confused about the latest revelation, although she still had a tonne of questions rolling around in her mind, Briar felt safe in her Godmother’s presence like she always had.

So with a shaky breath, she decided to extend a peace offering:

“You want some Apple and Blackberry Pie?”


	5. Worry

Chloe stood in the lounge, staring up at the large Christmas tree that she and Briar had put up and decorated a couple of weeks ago when Beca had visited for the weekend. Her face was puffy and her eyes stung from how much she’d been crying.

She brought a hand to one of the baubles. A beautiful clear glass one with her name enscribed on it in beautiful gold sparkling font. It had been a gift to her from Beca fourteen years ago. One that was identical to the other glass bauble the brunette had gifted Chloe’s daughter that very same Christmas - Briar’s first Christmas.

The redhead let out a shaky sigh. She had no more tears left to cry. It had been around twenty minutes since Beca had left the room to go up and see Briar and Chloe had done nothing but worry since. She had no idea what her daughter might ask of her best friend. What Briar might demand her Godmother do.

Chloe feared her daughter would send Beca away. Would tell her to never come back. And Chloe knew Beca. She knew the woman would do exactly as Briar told her to do. The kid had had Beca wrapped around her little finger from the second she’d been born. Beca would do anything for her. Would do anything for  _both_  Briar and Chloe. It was one of the things Chloe loved about her. Was one of the things that had made Chloe so sure that they would make the perfect couple and as a result the most perfect little family, just the three of them.

There’d been so many years when Chloe had tried to convince herself that she already had the perfect little family. Just her, Briar and Chicago. But then her husband had missed five Christmasses in a row due to ‘work commitments’ (that later turned out to be his commitment to the other family he’d started with some young woman from Portland) and Chloe had begun to wonder if her life really was as wonderful as she’d continuously told herself. As she’d continuously attempted to convince herself.

It’d been a very long and hard eighteen months. Last Christmas The Bellas had banded together, inviting Chloe and Briar over to LA to enjoy some winter sun with them at Beca’s home.

And while there Chloe had cried. Hard. Cried about her divorce proceedings. Cried about the three-day old news that her husband actually already had two children with the woman he’d left her for. Two  _sons_. The sons he’d craved the whole time that he’d ‘been with’ Chloe.

Each Bella had taken it in turns to comfort her while the others distracted Briar with a walk or a swim. But no Bella had been as much of a comfort to Chloe than Beca, who actually hadn’t done much other than grumble about how she was going to track Chicago down and kill him. Chloe knew Beca wasn’t able to do that - but it had been nice to hear her sound so protective.

It was around that time when Chloe had confessed to Beca about feeling so lonely and how she felt her only company really came in the form of Beca’s long weekends every third Thursday. That was when Beca had suggested she visit every weekend - just for the short term - as a way of supporting her. A short term suggestion that had turned into a long term routine.

Now, almost twelve months on, Beca felt like an extension of Chloe’s body they’d been around each other for so long. It had probably been inevitable that they ended up testing out a romantic relationship. A romantic relationship that had had them falling deeply in love with each other. Even at their age.

Chloe jumped at the sound of her daughter’s bedroom door opening upstairs and she paused, listening intently. There were no words spoken, but there were two pairs of footsteps slowly making their way down the stairs.

The redhead turned her body to face the door while she stood by the Christmas tree, waiting in anticipation for Briar and Beca to enter the room. But to Chloe’s disappointment only her daughter entered, tentatively, while the sound of someone leaving the house via the front door was heard shortly after.

Chloe felt her heart sink. Beca had gone. Had left without saying goodbye. Had that been Briar’s order? For the brunette to leave without another word?

Briar seemed to read her mother’s mind, “Um…she’s just gone to get her stuff out of the car.”

Chloe let out a shaky sigh of relief. Briar stood before her, no longer as angry as she’d once been, and Chloe had to hand it to Beca - the woman knew how to diffuse her daughter when the time was necessary.

“I’m not ready to figure out what’s been going on between you two recently.” Briar added quietly, her mind clearly still full of questions, “But it’s Christmas in a few days and…well it’s not Christmas without Aunt Beca.”

Briar was right. It wasn’t Christmas without Beca. Beca had been at the Walp family home celebrating Christmas with them since Chicago’s first Christmas ‘away on tour’ (read: away at other family home). This would be Beca’s seventh year in a row celebrating Christmas with them. It had become a tradition in its own right.

“You’re sure you’re okay with her staying?” Chloe asked gently, not wanting to give her teenage daughter any reason to get riled up. And Briar nodded slightly.

“She assured me you guys are going back to being just friends.” the fourteen year old said, and Chloe felt her stomach squirm at the prospect. She wasn’t sure if she even knew  _how_  to go back to being just friends with Beca. So much had happened. She was so used to holding her hand and sleeping in bed with her overnight. “I trust that she’ll keep her word so…I’m okay with her staying.”

Chloe let out a deep breath, a small smile poking from the corners of her mouth. It was going to be a long few days. But her solace was at least she’d still be able to spend it with Beca. Even if it wasn’t  _with_ -with Beca.

The two redheads turned to look out the door of the lounge just as the front door opened then closed, and within a matter of seconds Beca appeared in the doorway of the lounge, looking in sheepishly. Her arms were full of gift bags.

“I uh…brought presents?”

Chloe’s heart hammered against her chest while she watched her daughter approach Beca, the girl taking some of the gift bags from her Godmother. She felt like bursting into tears when Beca looked up at her, clearly feeling as upset as Chloe was about their unexpected ‘breakup’.

“You two pop the presents under the tree.” she instructed in as calm a voice as possible, “And I’ll sort dessert out.”

Briar led the way over to the tree just as Chloe moved away from it. The mother’s hand automatically reached out to brush against Beca’s arm, but Chloe retracted it in time and continued through to the kitchen. The knot in her stomach grew. This was going to be a really difficult week..


	6. Wednesday 22nd December

Spoons scraped on bowls while Briar, Chloe, and Beca sat in the lounge, eating the Apple and Blackberry Pie Chloe had cooked earlier. Beca sat on the lone armchair, her legs crossed while she sat back comfortably. Chloe sat on one couch. Briar sat on the other.

This wasn’t their usual setup in the evenings that Beca stayed. Briar hadn’t realised until now, but her mother and Godmother usually sat side by side on the couch her mother was currently sat on. Briar always sat on the very couch she was currently on. There was never any question.

Since Beca had reappeared with wrapped gifts, there hadn’t been a huge amount of conversation between the three females. And it was noticeably awkward.

Beca remembered this armchair. The armchair that none of them usually sat on. It was  _his_  chair. The sicko that had brought so much upset and disruption to this wonderful family. Beca took great pleasure in sitting on it. If Chicago could see her now…

_“No, don’t get me wrong Chloe. I’m HAPPY for you. But only if it’s genuinely something you want?”_

_Beca lounged on the armchair that stood in the corner of the small living quarters that Chloe now dubbed ‘home’, her leg hanging over the side while she watched her best friend pacing slightly in front of her. These living quarters were on the military base that Chicago had trained at and was now based at when he wasn’t posted away on tour. At least it was in Georgia - a state that they knew._

_“W…Well I’m pregnant, Beca.” and Beca felt her stomach knot even tighter each time Chloe reminded her of that fact, “What else am I supposed to do?”_

_Everything had happened so quickly. The USO tour. Chloe meeting Chicago. Chloe falling for then kissing Chicago. Chloe only going on five dates with Chicago before falling pregnant…_

_“Uh, you could maybe NOT marry him so quickly?” Beca suggested with a shrug. She only ever wanted the best for her best friend. Sure, there was also the added complication that Beca was secretly in love with Chloe. But she had been trying to rid herself of those feelings recently. Chloe was committed to this army dude now. Far quicker than any of them would have liked her to be. Now she was pregnant. A forever-commitment._

_And by most people’s standards, Chicago had done the honourable thing and had immediately proposed. To which Chloe had immediately said “Yes.”_

_Two weeks on and Beca was still in a state of shock. As was Chloe, it seemed. She’d only known the guy seven weeks and now she was going to marry him and have a baby with him?_

_Beca knew Chloe had always wanted to settle down and start a family before she was thirty, but this was ridiculous. She watched as Chloe rolled her eyes, folding her arms before resuming her pacing._

_“I mean it Chlo. You don’t HAVE to do this. You don’t HAVE to marry him.” Beca hadn’t wanted to sound like she was pleading with her, but she knew Chloe better than anyone, and she knew Chloe was just being loyal. “You can still have this baby and spend time working out if he’s the right guy for you.”_

_“I’m not having children with different men, Beca.” Chloe snapped, and Beca hesitated. Pregnancy hormones weren’t exactly Chloe’s forté at the moment. And Beca had forgotten that. “What’s done is done. I’m having a baby with Chicago and that means we need to get married. I can’t live with him here if not.”_

_“And so you’re gonna live on this base all your life?”_

_“No.” Chloe replied honestly, pausing her pacing to explain her plan to her best friend, “We’re gonna get married, I’m gonna move in here, have the baby, then when we’ve got enough money we’ll find a house of our own off-base.”_

_Beca wasn’t overly sure where Chloe was expecting this money to miraculously come from. But this was Chloe all over: whistful, daydreamy, often unrealistic.._

_So the brunette let out a heavy sigh and shrugged, pointing seriously at Chloe, “Okay well…if you think I’m gonna let you get away with distancing yourself on this base you better guess again, Beale.” and Beca’s expression softened as Chloe smiled gently at her, “I’m gonna be here at least two times a month checking in on you and this pregnancy. Then when the baby comes I’ll be here more whether Chicago likes it or not. Capisce?”_

_The two best friends smiled at one another while Chloe nodded. There was never any question that they wouldn’t be heavily involved in one another’s lives. Certainly not since they’d spent two years sharing a bed in a tiny studio apartment back in Brooklyn. Just before they’d gone on that USO Tour and just before Beca had got that solo recording contract. They were committed to one another for life whether they liked it or not._

_“Hey, would you mind getting off my chair?” came the rhetorical question, and both women turned to see Chicago striding through the front door of the living quarters, looking somewhat sternly at Beca, “I don’t like people sitting on my chair. Especially strangers.”_

_Beca swung her leg from over the side of the armchair and stood up, glaring at Chicago while Chloe smiled nervously. The redhead brought an arm out and placed it gently on her Fiancé’s arm, “Well, she’s not a STRANGER, babe.”_

_“She is to me.” Chicago replied seriously, looking Beca up and down, before turning to the mother of his unborn child. His demeanour appeared to change in an instant, and his expression brightened, “How you doing baby-Mama?” he asked softly._

_Beca’s stomach dropped as she watched her best friend’s face light up at the nickname. Chloe perched on her tip-toes, mumbling a happy “Good thanks, baby-Papa.” before placing a kiss on the man’s lips. Beca felt her own face screwing up slightly. Seeing Chloe kiss him was never going to get easier to be around._

“Well, I know I say it every winter, Chlo…” Beca said with a heavy sigh, wincing slightly from her full stomach while she leant over to place her empty bowl on the small side table that Chicago used to always place his whiskey glass, “…but that’s the best damn pie I’ve ever eaten.”

Briar looked up from her own bowl to assess her mother’s reaction, and true to form a soft smile had spread over the woman’s face. Chloe was pleased with this compliment. And Briar struggled to remember a time when her father ever complimented her mother. About… _anything_. It was this moment that had Briar wondering if maybe her Godmother  _was_  a good choice in partner for her mother. After all, she treated her with care and respect, just as a partner should. It was already proven in the emotional conversation between Beca and Chloe earlier that Beca loved her as a partner should.

But as she began to weigh up the notion, Briar felt the heaviness of anxiety tugging at her chest. She was overwhelmed. It was all too much to think about at the moment. And so she gently placed her spoon down into her bowl and took several quiet deep breaths, smoothing the palm of her hand over her chest.

“You okay, Pickle?” Beca asked, looking over at her Goddaughter with concern. Briar simply cleared her throat with a nod.

“Yeah. Yeah, just some heartburn.” she mumbled.

She jumped as something flew across the room, landing in a space on the couch beside her. The teen glanced down. It was the TV remote. And with that action came her mother’s kind tone:

“Wanna pick the Christmas movie for tonight?”

It was tradition. Every year, in the week leading up to Christmas, Briar and her mother (and, depending on what part of the week it was, her Aunt Beca) would all gather around the TV in the evening to watch a Christmas movie. And as with most years, Briar chose ‘Elf’.

Chloe sat up a little higher as the scene she and Beca found the most amusing began. Her bright blue eyes darted across the room to her best friend and her heart began beating a little faster when she noticed that Beca was already looking at her out of the corner of her eye with a soft smile on her face.

In the movie, Buddy the Elf freaked his romantic interest out when he began dueting with her while she was in the shower. Beca and Chloe resonated with this scene more than anyone could ever know. Because when they’d been kids in college, Chloe had done the very same thing to Beca, freaking her out in the showers by dueting with her, when it had only been their second time meeting.

Chloe’s heart yearned for the woman she so deeply loved. Yearned for the touch of her hand, and the warmth of her body next to hers. The smell of her shampoo and the taste of her-

The mother jumped at the sound of her daughter laughing loudly at the scene playing out on the TV. Chloe felt her cheeks flush pink as she quickly resumed her attention on the movie. She had to stop thinking of Beca that way. Briar had made the decision for them. They just  _couldn’t_  keep dating. And as such Chloe had to draw her being back to the way it had once been. Where she’d tried to push her feelings for Beca deep down.

_“How’s my boy doing?”_

_Chloe looked up from her book with a soft smile, watching as her husband stepped through the door into the living quarters she now called ‘home’._

_They’d been married four months. And while it had been a little stressful at times, particularly when Chicago had had a bad day, it was for the most part as blissfully wonderful as people said marriage could be. Chloe watched as the man smiled at her, placing a chaste kiss on her lips before getting down onto his knees and keeping his face close to the woman’s belly that had increased in size in recent weeks._

_“We don’t know that it’s a boy.” Chloe said in an amused tone, one hand gently stroking through her husband’s well kept hair. She watched as he looked up at her with a grin._

_“We make boys in my family. My Dad has had five boys. My brothers have all had boys. This one is definitely a boy.”_

_Chloe felt her heart sink. To think that pregnancy wasn’t stressful enough without having to worry that her husband wouldn’t love this baby if it came out a girl.._

“Remember when we made that one year?” Beca asked with a chuckle, pointing at the screen as Buddy poured a tonne of maple syrup and candy onto his spaghetti.

Briar chuckled too, “Do I! I think I was in the bathroom for the rest of the day!”

Chloe grinned as she looked from her best friend to her daughter and back again while they watched the movie. If there was one thing Chloe had always been certain about, it was that Beca had always loved Briar unconditionally. And that the woman had always kept true to her word. She had always strived to remain a part of their life.


	7. Thursday 23rd December

Briar and Chloe slowly made their way down the centre of the large local mall. Everything about today oozed Christmas, from the music, to the decorations, to the Hubble of people dashing about trying to get last minute gifts.

Beca had been one of those people, explaining that she had one last gift to ‘panic buy’. A gift that she’d insisted meant that neither Walp could be around her when she bought it. So Chloe and her daughter had parted with Beca, and had agreed to meet her outside the ‘Cookie & Cocoa Stall’ in an hour’s time.

“So Aunt Beca mentioned that you and her had waited twenty years to be together.” Briar suddenly burst, her hands stuffed in her coat pockets, looking cautiously over at her mother. All she saw was a sad smile wash over the woman’s face. “What did she mean by that?”

Chloe looked from the ground to the view up ahead of them, not really  _seeing_  the people or the stores, just trying to ensure they didn’t wander into anything. She paused, trying to find the right words that might not end up in an argument in the middle of the busy mall. Chloe didn’t mind arguing at home - at least that way she knew where her daughter was whenever she stormed off - but arguing miles from home was another matter.

“When we started dating earlier in the year…” Chloe answered slowly, “…we found out that we’d both actually had huge crushes on each other in college. And after college. And if one of us had said something…well everything would be different.”

Briar swallowed loudly. It was true, everything would. For one thing, she probably wouldn’t even be alive!

“How long after you started dating Dad did you fall pregnant with me?”

She watched as a coy smile grew on her face. She hadn’t ever asked Chloe about her pregnancy or engagement to her father. It had always felt as though they’d been together forever and it’d always been so straight forward. But since her father had left them, Briar had begun second guessing all that she’d ever known.

“About six weeks?” Chloe mumbled, tugging her bottom lip between her teeth as she looked over at her daughter. The teen’s face opened in shock.

“Six weeks.”

“Uhuh.”

“And…you got married?!”

Chloe swallowed loudly. This was the part of the story that nobody really knew about. Only she, Chicago, and Beca knew the main dark fact of her engagement and subsequent shotgun wedding to the man who had inpregnated her fifteen years ago.

“Well I wasn’t left with much of a choice. Your Dad said the only way he’d stay with me was if we got married. Something about military rules.” Chloe paused, looking back out ahead of them while they moved between people, not really caring where they were going. “And I wanted you to have a family to grow up in. With a Mom and a Dad. And I already loved you so much. So it was a no-brainer. He proposed and I said yes.”

“And…Aunt Beca was  _okay_  with that?”

Briar had a hard time believing that her strong and steadfast Godmother would’ve stood by and let her selfish father get away with manipulating her mother like that. But she watched as a soft smile spread on Chloe’s face.

“She thought it was crazy, but she agreed to be my maid of honour all the same.” Then there was a pause as Chloe stepped out of the way so a couple who looked sickeningly in love could barge between the woman and her daughter. When Briar and Chloe reunited, Briar noticed her mother’s expression looked to be a little more of disbelief, “Actually, your Aunt Beca told me the other week that she nearly stopped the wedding. She was going to tell me she was in love with me and that she’d protect us - you and me - and provide for us if I walked away from your father.”

Briar’s eyebrows rose. That would’ve been a bold move. Particularly for her tiny Godmother, who barely reached her father’s shoulder. Goodness knows how he would’ve reacted had that actually have happened.

“She should’ve done it.” The teen mumbled, “You would’ve said yes and we probably would’ve been happier..”

Chloe was surprised by her daughter’s choice of words and maturity to this new information about her past. Was Briar  _seriously_  slowly getting used to the idea of Beca being the ideal romantic partner for her mother?

——

Beca stood patiently in the long queue for the ‘Cookie & Cocoa stall’, looking over her shoulder for her two favourite redheads. She hadn’t meant to sound mean when she’d told them they couldn’t come with her to the stores she needed to scour. The thing was, Beca’s original present for Chloe had been a present someone would give to the woman they loved. Now that she and Chloe weren’t really allowed to be together romantically any more, Beca had had to panic buy a present that screamed “Just Friends” rather than “I’m Fucking In Love With you”. Which had proved harder than she’d first thought.

Suddenly she jumped as she felt a pair of hands jab her sides and she turned to see her Goddaughter beaming at her mischievously. They both chuckled, Beca throwing her arm around the teen’s shoulders to try to get her into a playful headlock, but Briar was too tall.

“Damn, that used to be so much easier when you were little.” Beca muttered as Briar twisted out of her loose grip with a grin. The brunette looked over to see Chloe approach with an affectionate smile on her face. It were as though they were the little family the two women had always craved, and Beca did everything within her power not to reach out and take Chloe’s hand as she joined them in the queue.

_“Yeah it’s a girl…Yeah I know Dad, I thought so too! I…I know you’re disappointed…well of course I am! Look, there’s nothing I can d-“_

_Beca watched in disbelief as she stood outside the closed door of Chloe’s hospital room, listening to Chicago’s phone call to his father down the end of the corridor. She had a coffee for herself and a hot chocolate for her best friend in her hands. It had been a really difficult few hours. But at the end of the day, the baby was finally here safe and sound. And above all things, Chloe was alive._

_She watched as Chicago caught sight of her, “Listen Dad I’ve gotta go… Yeah, bye.” and it took all of her self control not to throw her hot coffee at the man such was her anger at him._

_“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Beca exclaimed in as low a tone as she could afford while the man wandered towards her, ready to go back in the room. “Your daughter is healthy. Your wife is miraculously alive! Don’t you care about that?”_

_“Of course I care that Chloe’s alive.” Chicago snapped, his skin pale with the amount of sleep he’d lost overnight while Chloe had been in the operating room. “You think I would’ve been okay with having to raise a baby on my own? A baby that I never planned on having?”_

_Beca’s jaw clenched, the blood within her bubbling. She’d never been more elated when Chloe had given birth to that beautiful baby, immediately besotted by the tiny thing when Chicago had handed it to her while he took time to quietly process his disappointment that he didn’t have a son. And Beca hadn’t been more terrified than an hour later, when Chloe was suddenly rushed through to the emergency theatre with a postpartum haemorrhage. She had been petrified that that would’ve been the last time she’d see her best friend. The woman she’d secretly been in love with for years._

_“Oh so you don’t give a fuck that Chloe’s still alive because she’s your wife, you’re more relieved that she’s alive to take care of this baby you never wanted-“_

_“-is that such a bad thing??” Chicago interrupted, “Look, you don’t know the pressures my family put me under. The only son to not follow in my father’s footsteps and make it into the Navy. The only son to get some girl he barely knew pregnant which led to a dodgy shotgun wedding that none of my family went to. The only son to have a daughter…”_

_Beca knew what it was like to have to deal with family pressures. But when love was involved she really didn’t care what they thought. And she was annoyed that Chicago cared that much about what his own father thought._

_“You’ve got responsibilities, dude. No matter how quickly this all happened and no matter how much you hate to hear it, it’s true. You have a wife and a fucking BABY to provide for.” She watched as Chicago’s shoulders dipped, the man letting out a heavy sigh. “I get if you’ll want me to stay away-“_

_“-Are you kidding?” Chicago interrupted quickly, “No way. Having you around will make my life a hell of a lot easier.” Beca swallowed loudly, hesitating for a moment. Was he serious? He was wanting her to be around more for his wife and child because he didn’t want to step up?!_

_“Dude, you’ve gotta man up.” Beca said seriously. She wasn’t ever going to tell Chloe about this conversation. Wasn’t ever going to tell her that her husband had been on the cusp of bailing. That he never really wanted their baby. “I’m gonna go in there and cuddle your daughter, because I love her. I’m gonna sit with your wife, because I love her. And it’d better not be long before you’re back in there too. Because you’ve got to step up now - as both a husband and a father. They need you.”_

“So Mom was saying how you nearly crashed her and Dad’s wedding back in the day.” Briar said in a tone that was far too casual for the topic of conversation.

Beca and Chloe looked to each other awkwardly.

“Uh..yeah.” Beca replied, looking at Chloe with a sad smile while Chloe mirrored her expression, “Biggest mistake of my life not going through with that.”

Briar shuffled a little awkwardly on the spot, all too aware that her mother and Godmother were probably looking over at each other behind her. She knew the feelings they had for each other. She just still wasn’t quite sure how to measure them up in her head.

 _If_  Beca and her Mom became official, what would that mean for their home life? Would they have to relocate to LA because that’s where Beca worked? Briar didn’t want to leave her friends. Or her school. She liked it here.

And  _if_  her Mom and Beca became official, would her friends still want to be friends with her? Or would she become a laughing stock? And what if the kids at school found out her Mom was a  _lesbian_? She’d surely be bullied..

“What sort of cookie you gonna go for this time, Bry?” Beca asked, nudging the teen out of her thoughts.

“Oh.” Briar said, jumping slightly before looking up at the menu board. Only two people left to be served before them. She always went with Pisachio and White Chocolate. But this time she wondered if she should be a bit more ‘out there’.

“I think I’ll go for caramel and banana.”

She missed the way her mother and Godmother glanced at each other in surprise. They both knew for a fact that Briar hated banana flavoured things. But there was no telling that kid sometimes. So Beca and Chloe just shrugged.

“If you’re sure.” Chloe replied in an uncertain tone.

——

Five minutes later, the two Walps and the Mitchell stood to the side of the stall, a cup of cocoa each in one hand and their chosen cookie in the other. Beca didn’t bite into her cookie right away, waiting to judge Briar’s reaction. She’d purposely chosen the Pistachio & White Chocolate flavour, just in case..

Briar took one bite of her cookie, chewed it a couple of times, then scrunched her nose up. Beca glanced at her best friend just as Chloe glanced back and they both tried to hide their grins, rolling their eyes at Briar’s bravery.

“Come on.” Beca said, handing her cocoa out to Chloe to hold for a moment while she offered her own cookie to her Goddaughter, “Have your favourite, and I’ll be the hero who eats the banana flavour cookie.”

Briar swallowed, shuddering for a moment the cookie had tasted so bad, and didn’t hesitate when Beca switched their cookies. Beca never chose Pistachio & White Chocolate. She always chose the ‘Mocha’ flavour. But clearly she knew Briar better than Briar even knew herself.

“Thanks.” the teen said bashfully, taking a tiny nibble from her new cookie

She missed the way her mother smoothed her hand across Beca’s back, giving the petite woman a grateful look. Just as she missed the wink Beca gave Chloe in return.

Then the three turned to head out of the mall, ready to drive home for an afternoon of Christmas-Themed Baking..


	8. Christmas Eve

The sun had set by mid-afternoon and as a result the true beauty of the town’s Christmas lights and impressive Christmas Market flooded the area with seasonal warmth. Briar walked between her Mom and her Godmother with a content smile on her face, her eyes distracted by one sight, then another, then  _another_.

Last night had been Beca’s choice in movie. The brunette had chosen ‘Home Alone’ which had been closely followed by ‘Home Alone 2’ - both favourites of the three inhabitants of the house that night. They’d all squidged on Chloe’s sofa, with Briar in the middle holding the massive bowl of popcorn in her lap while her mother and Godmother sat either side, reaching for the popcorn from time to time.

Today had been a day where the three females had kept themselves to themselves in different parts of the lounge and kitchen area, each wrapping last minute presents. Then they’d gathered to ice the final batch of Christmas cookies that they were taking to the midnight mass service this evening - another Christmas tradition.

“Briar!!”

The teen turned to see who had just called her name, and the redhead smiled when she saw a small gaggle of her school friends outside a fudge stall. Amber, one of the most popular girls in Briar’s year, motioned for her to join them. So she came to a stop and turned to her mother and Godmother.

“Um, is it okay if I just go say hi to my friends?” she asked, motioning to the group of teens, knowing full well that neither her mother or Beca would say no. And sure enough the two women nodded, Beca checking that Briar had her phone with her fully charged for when they needed to meet up again.

As Briar approached her friends, Amber smiled brightly at her, peering over at Chloe and Beca who had both decided to queue for some mulled wine, “Hey are your Mom and Beca Mitchell dating yet?” the young blonde asked with a grin.

Briar was stunned by the forward question. She was used to people calling her Godmother by her full name - after all, Beca  _was_  one of the most famous DJ’s in the world. But she hadn’t had anyone ask her whether her Mom and Beca were in a  _relationship_.

“Uh…” Briar began, hesitating as she looked over her shoulder to see her Mom laugh loudly at something Beca had said. Her Godmother made her mother  _so_  happy.

“Because it’s cool if they are.” Amber added with a shrug, and Briar furrowed her brow, turning to look at her again. Amber just smiled, “Yeah, then you can join the club. My Mom’s been dating her best friend for over a year. Shannon’s Mom has had three girlfriends in the past three months…”

Briar’s eyebrows rose while she looked over at poor Shannon who nodded slowly with a grim expression on her face, “They all had kids too.” Shannon added, and Briar’s stomach fell. She could remember that feeling of having to share. Not so much with her mother. But with her Godmother.

_“Hey!” the voice sang out in a chirpy tone, echoing through the house._

_Briar looked up from her painting set, her smile widening in delight as she heard the familiar sound of her Godmother, calling out from the front of the house. The eight year old slid from her small seat, her little heart racing she was so happy that her Aunt Beca was finally here. She’d given up perching by the front window to look out for her._

_But as Briar skidded to a halt in the lobby, her eyes immediately fell upon two little girls, one the same age as her, and one several years younger. The smallest girl was in the arms of a woman she’d never seen before, who was smiling politely down at her. The other girl was looking back at her and was holding HER AUNT BECA’S HAND._

_“Hey Pickle.” Beca greeted with a big smile, clearly proud of the visitors she’d brought, “This is Daisy.” Briar watched as the older girl was motioned to, “This is Phoebe.” and the two year old was motioned to, “And this is their Mommy, Sarah.”_

_Briar’s little eyes looked up to the woman beside her Godmother. The woman who smoothed the palm of her hand across the base of Beca’s back which caused Beca to turn and look up at her with a happy smile. Sarah was tall, with red hair and blue eyes. But even though she was smiling, Briar had a feeling it wasn’t a real smile. It wasn’t as warm and loving as her Mommy’s._

_“Sweetheart?” Chloe said in a soft tone, stepping up to her young daughter and sweeping back some of her red curls, “This is Aunt Beca’s new little family. Why don’t you say hello?”_

_But Briar didn’t WANT to say hello. She wanted to place her hands firmly on the strange lady’s legs and push her out of their house. Then she wanted to push ‘Daisy’ out too. Then SHE could hold her Aunt Beca’s hand and have her all to herself. Like she always did._

_“Come on, Sugar.” Beca mumbled to the child whose hand she was holding, “Say hello to Briar.”_

_“Hello.” Daisy mumbled in a shy tone, and Briar saw her Godmother grin at her mother, then up at Sarah who seemed to still be smiling politely. But when Briar glanced up at her mother, she recognised a forced smile on the woman’s face. Her mother didn’t really like Aunt Beca’s new little family. And as a result, Briar confirmed to herself that she didn’t either._

_“I painted you a picture Aunt Beca.” Briar said with a smile, wanting to gain her Godmother’s entire attention. And in order to do so fully, she stepped up to Daisy, pulled both Daisy and Beca’s hands apart, then took her Aunt Beca’s hand to lead her through to the kitchen where she’d been painting._

_“Oh um…” Beca began, looking awkwardly over her shoulder, apologetically, at her girlfriend of seven months, “…I’ll be right back.” then she let out a light chuckle as she allowed Briar to lead her away from the females stood by the front door._

“And Carly’s Mom got engaged last week to her girlfriend of three years. Isn’t that crazy!” Amber continued, snapping Briar out of her brief daydream.

Briar looked at the three out of five friends stood before her and almost couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Their Mom’s were lesbians? And Amber was still popular at school? Perhaps that was one less thing Briar needed to worry about..

“They’re um…taking things slow at the moment.” Briar said with a cautious tone, looking over her shoulder and watching as her Godmother was chivalrous in paying for the mulled wine.

“Ahh that’s cool.” Amber said kindly, then pulled open the brown paper bag in her hands, “Want some fudge?”

Briar took a piece of the sweet treat, nibbling at it thoughtfully while she looked back over at her Mom and Aunt Beca. She could tell the two women were trying hard not to lock their arms like they’d always done before this week. Briar hadn’t even really noticed that that was what they’d used to do until they’d stopped doing it. And she felt the slightest pang of guilt.

“Hey, you seeing your Dad much over the holidays?” Amber asked, and Briar felt her stomach lurch. She hadn’t seen her Dad since he’d left the family home eighteen months ago.

_“Briar?”_

_Briar looked up from her phone with a furrowed brow, wondering why her mother’s voice had sounded so upset while it carried up the stairs to her bedroom. The teen slid from her bed and made her way over to her bedroom door. She opened it gently to hear her father down in the entrance hall of the house, speaking to her mother:_

_“Don’t call her down here!” he hissed, and Briar’s chest tightened. Why didn’t he want her there?_

_“She needs to say goodbye!” Chloe hissed back, and Briar could sense the anguish in her mother’s voice._

_“Look I’ll just go. It’s hard enough saying goodbye to y-“_

_“-Bullshit!” Chloe snapped and Briar’s eyebrows rose. She’d never heard her mother swear before, “You don’t feel anything for me. You’ve **never**  felt anything for me. So don’t pretend as though walking away is difficult for you right now.”_

_The teen’s breath caught in her throat as she slowly headed for the top of the stairs. Her mother’s voice had been quaking while the woman spoke to her father. As though she was crying. Briar had a feeling she knew what was going on. But she needed to hear it from her father to believe it._

_“I **did**  feel something for you, Chloe.” Chicago insisted, and Briar peered down the stairs to see her father and mother stood by the front door. The teen’s heart sank as she saw a large suitcase by her father’s feet. Was he being stationed somewhere?_

_“Have you told your **mistress**  that??” Chloe challenged, just as Briar made her way down the stairs._

_Her mother and father both turned to look at her, each letting out heavy sighs. Briar’s stomach knotted. Her mother’s face was pale and puffy, evidence that she’d been heavily in tears for some time somewhere in the house. Her father looked equally pale, but determined, perhaps even relaxed? As though a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders._

_“What’s going on?” Briar asked tentatively, looking from her mother who glared up at her father while her father looked down at his feet awkwardly._

_The house fell silent as Briar stopped at the bottom of the stairs, her hand gripping the banister nervously. There had always been this sort of vibe between her parents. They didn’t always argue. But then they didn’t always talk. Her father was a quiet man who was away a lot with the military. Her mother, when he was away, was chatty and bubbly, but more reserved when he was at home. As though the woman was always stepping on eggshells around him. Briar never knew why._

_“Tell her.” Chloe said in a threatening tone and Chicago cleared his throat loudly before looking over at Briar._

_“I’m moving away, B-R.” the man said seriously, “I’ve met someone else. I’m living with her now.”_

_Briar’s mouth dropped open in shock, hesitating for a moment. She looked to her mother who understandably seemed upset by this news. He’d met another woman?! But…how? When??_

_“Does she live very far away?” was the first question Briar managed to choke out. How could he **do**  this to them? They were his family. They were always here waiting for him to come home from war._

_“Portland.” was her father’s simple answer. He’d never been a man of many words._

_Briar glanced at her mother again, noting the tears that built in the woman’s eyes, and she could feel her heartache. What were they going to do now? Mom wouldn’t be able to volunteer at the local animal shelter any more. She’d need to get a proper paid job._

_And Portland? That was the other side of the country! When would he find time to visit if he was all the way over there?_

_“But that’s…so far away.” Briar mumbled, moving forward a few steps, looking up at her father in confusion, “When will you visit?”_

_There was an awkward silence as Chicago glanced at Chloe before looking back at their daughter with a sigh, “I won’t be visiting, Briar-Rose. I’m leaving for good.”_

_Briar felt the blood drain from her face as her whole world suddenly tumbled from around her. And to her dismay she watched as her father cleared his throat, picked up his suitcase, and looked to them both._

_“Take care of each other.” he added, before leaving out the front door, closing it behind him._

_Briar’s body felt numb, her mouth still open in shock at her father’s abrupt, unemotional departure. He didn’t even pretend to be sorry. Didn’t even pretend like this was something he didn’t really want to do. He just…left!_

_The thirteen year old watched as her mother suddenly burst into tears and fell to her knees by the front door. The girl hesitated, watching for a couple of moments. Then she drew her attention to her phone, and dialled the number of the only person she knew they could trust._

_“Aunt Beca?…Dad’s just left us.”_

“Nah.” Briar said with a light sigh, shrugging as though she didn’t care, “I’ve not spoken to him since he left.”

“Good.” came Amber’s reply, “He was a total jerk for leaving you guys like that.” and Briar had to agree, her Dad  _was_  a total jerk. The eighteen months following had been really difficult. Not so much because he wasn’t there any more - after all Chicago hadn’t been around much even when he  _had_  been ‘living’ with them - but because at the back of Briar’s mind there was always this thought that she was actually never going to see him again and that her father was totally okay about that.

In all fairness, if it hadn’t been for Aunt Beca, Briar couldn’t be sure if her mother would have ever recovered from the trauma of her husband secretly finding another woman and having secret children with  _her_  too.

It was all thanks to Beca that Briar and Chloe were back to being their happy selves once again. And it was this knowledge that had Briar wondering again if she’d been too quick to deny her mother and Aunt true happiness together.

——

The final hymn was sung and the clock of the large church struck midnight, signifying the welcome of Christmas Day. Briar smiled as people stood in front of her turned to shake her hand and wish her a “Merry Christmas” while she returned the greeting. It was her favourite part of Midnight Mass. That and the food that was provided at the end with the most  _amazing_  hot cocoa.

The teen looked to her right, at her mother and Godmother while they both wished the people near them a “Merry Christmas”, and Briar smiled gently when she saw Beca and Chloe turn to one another. The two women paused for a moment, then gently shook each other’s hands, their eyes locked while they smiled softly at one another.

Briar let out a calm sigh. Even as friends, her mother and Godmother seemed happy and content together. And it filled the teen with warmth and hope. This Christmas was going to be their best Christmas yet..


	9. Christmas Day - pt. 1

Beca sat up in the guest bed, the small bedside lamp remaining on while she read a book on her kindle. She hadn’t been much of a reader until a few years ago when Chloe had gifted her this device. Now she read a book a week - which was impressive considering her busy schedule she kept at work when she wasn’t here in Georgia.

The brunette let out a small sigh, pushing her reading glasses up onto her head and rubbing her eyes. She looked at the clock beside the bed she sat up in. 5.30am. Far too early, even for Christmas morning.

She’d expected this Christmas to be her best Christmas yet. Even better than Briar’s first Christmas - which had felt really special. There was something extra magical about sharing Christmas with a child. And in years before now she’d loved seeing the way Briar’s face had lit up at the first sight of the Christmas tree each time Beca helped Chloe assemble it.

Beca  _had_  hoped that this Christmas would be her best Christmas yet because, before arriving here on Wednesday, she and Chloe had been together. Romantically. And Beca  _had_  planned on spoiling the woman rotten with gifts. Had  _wanted_  to spoil her rotten. But sadly Briar hadn’t reacted so well to the news and Beca and Chloe had had to come to the decision to just go back to being best friends.

Beca couldn’t count the number of times over the past few days that she’d wanted to wrap her arms around Chloe and pull her into a warm hug and a deep kiss. This sort of pining was different to the pining she’d used to do. Back when she’d been in their twenties and in college or fresh out.

The difference this time was that Beca  _knew_  that Chloe felt the same way. This time Beca knew how Chloe’s kisses felt because she’d already experienced them. Knew how Chloe’s body felt because she’d laid naked with it in bed before…

Beca looked across the room and saw a photo hanging on the wall. It was a photo of Briar, Chloe, and Beca. Taken during their trip to Disneyland back at the end of August. That had been the first trip Beca and Chloe had been on since their first kiss the evening before travelling there. And Beca yearned to be back there again.

_Beca sat on the edge of her hotel bed with a soft smile on her face, looking at her phone of all the photos they’d already taken from their journey over to Disneyland today. She found herself staring at Chloe’s face in those photos, still astounded that the beautiful woman felt the same for her. That they were both in love with each other. That they’d finally had the guts to reveal it._

_Briar didn’t know. And for now both Beca and Chloe agreed that was okay. They needed to test things out. To see if this relationship would work before making a huge change to the teen’s life by introducing a slightly different family dynamic._

_Suddenly Beca heard a light tapping on the door beside her hotel closet. It wasn’t the room door.. and Beca grinned when she realised that the room beside hers - Chloe’s room - had a door that connected to hers. Thank God Briar had the room opposite. The brunette stood, placing her phone on the side, then made her way over to welcome her visitor._

_Within barely two seconds, Beca’s heart soared as she saw Chloe’s beaming face surging towards hers, the redhead cupping her cheeks and instantly kissing her passionately. Beca wrapped her arms around Chloe’s waist, unable to help the grin that poked on her face from beneath the kiss as Chloe wildly flapped her hands backwards to push the door back over behind her._

_Their lips parted, both letting out short gasps, their foreheads resting against each other’s as they relished the intimacy. After sharing their first kiss last night, which had led to a rather long makeout session on the couch back at Chloe’s, the two best friends had bid each other goodnight, promising that that moment wouldn’t be their last._

_Having to keep their hands off each other had been excruciating. It only served to make this moment all the more satisfying. Twenty fours hours felt like a long time to wait. But it had been worth it._

_Beca nudged at Chloe’s cheek with the tip of her nose, her lips only shadowing over Chloe’s mouth teasingly, while their respective warm breaths washed over the others skin. She could feel Chloe grabbing the back of her shirt with fistfuls of fabric. And they both rocked gently on the spot._

_This was still all so new and fresh and exciting. Twenty years of waiting, and finally they were together._

_“You’ve no idea how long I’ve waited for this.” Beca whispered, her chest still heaving with excitement, at the same rate as Chloe’s. And she watched as her best friend grinned, also nuzzling at Beca’s cheek while she replied in a whisper:_

_“If its anywhere near as long as me, then I think I’ve got an idea.”_

_They both let out airy chuckles, their foreheads still resting against each other while they looked down at one another’s lips. Then with a deep breath, they both kissed again, heavy and full of lust._

_Some moments later, Beca felt Chloe’s hands pulling her shirt up over her head, and their kiss broke so Beca could accommodate her best friend’s actions. As the garment landed on the floor beside them, they paused, Beca looking at Chloe closely while the redhead skimmed her fingertips delicately over Beca’s skin, watching her hand while it slipped beneath Beca’s bra strap._

_Chloe looked nervous and it filled Beca with concern. She didn’t want to be pressuring Chloe into doing something she wasn’t ready to do. It’d been over a year since Chicago had left. But it was all still at the forefront of their minds._

_The past fifteen years Chloe had saved and given her body to nobody but her husband. The father of her child. This was a huge step for her, and Beca knew it._

_“You’re sure you want this?” Beca whispered gently, bringing her forehead to Chloe’s while her best friend slipped the bra strap off Beca’s shoulder._

_Chloe just nodded, whispering, “I trust you. I want you. I’ve always wanted you.”_

_And with that, Beca brought her mouth back to Chloe’s, placing a soft kiss on the woman’s lips. A kiss that quickly deepened again as Chloe’s fingers next found the button and zip to Beca’s jeans…_

Beca found her eyes drifting to another photo, in a frame on top of a bookshelf. It was of a selfie Chloe had taken of herself, Beca and Briar a couple of years ago. When Chloe and Briar had travelled over to LA to visit Beca for the week. The photo had specifically been taken when they’d all gone on an afternoon hike in the nearby ‘Hollywood Hills’. Beca smiled. That had been such a strange time. It had been an important visit. One that had helped Beca heal from the somewhat difficult breakup she’d gone through days earlier. With her girlfriend of four years.

_“It’s them or us.”_

_Beca’s jaw dropped open at the ultimatum, stood opposite Sarah in shock while they remained in the redhead’s small kitchen. Sarah’s children were at their father’s. Fortunately. Because this was NOT a conversation Beca was happy for them to overhear._

_“What?”_

_“I mean it, Beca.” Sarah said with a heavy sigh and a serious expression, “I don’t want to have to share you with Chloe and Briar anymore. I need you to be fully committed to me and the girls if we’re going to make this work in the long run.”_

_“Long run? It’s been four years! I’ve been committed to you the whole ti-“_

_“-You spend every Christmas with them!” Sarah interrupted, her arms folded._

_“Yeah because they’re my family!” Beca counteracted, “I don’t complain when YOU go to your Mother’s every Christmas.”_

_“I go to my Mother’s otherwise I’d be spending Christmas on my own because my girlfriend would rather spend Christmas with another woman-“_

_“Who’s my best friend.” Beca spoke over her girlfriend who continued:_

_“-and twelve year old who isn’t even her stepdaughter!”_

_“She’s my GODDAUGHTER!” Beca snapped, her anger bubbling away. This had been a common argument over the years since Sarah had first been introduced to Chloe and Briar. Beca had apparently spent months in the lead-up to the first meeting mentioning Chloe and Briar all the time. Then on the drive home from Chloe’s, after the first meeting, Sarah had said to Beca how much Chloe looked like her. Beca had just furrowed her brow with an amused smirk, insisting they were nothing alike. But it clearly hadn’t been enough. And as such, Sarah would mention from time to time how much Beca saw and spoke to Chloe._

_“Like I said, Beca. It’s us or them.” Sarah said seriously, tears tainting her blue eyes and Beca’s chest tightened. She really loved Sarah. Sarah was easy to love. She was kind and caring. Understood when Beca had a lot of work on so struggled to spend every weekend with her and the kids. But Beca usually found a way to see them for at least half of the weekend. Yes, things had become a little strained in recent weeks. Beca had been tired with work and Sarah had been tired of their same-old routine of sitting around her house with the kids watching TV. But that didn’t mean they didn’t love each other. That didn’t mean they couldn’t spend the rest of their lives together.._

_“I’m not saying you have to stop seeing Chloe and Briar.” Sarah added in a softer tone, “I’m just saying you need to spend more time with us. Giving us your attention during your spare time instead of calling and texting Briar as much as you do.”_

_Beca couldn’t believe what was happening. What was essentially being said. Was Sarah seriously jealous of a twelve year old?_

_“I can’t stop supporting Briar, Sweets.” Beca replied after a couple of beats, her shoulders hanging in disappointment, “You know that. She’s like a daughter to me.”_

_“Aren’t Daisy and Phoebe like daughter’s to you too?” Sarah asked, a tear rolling down her cheek and Beca felt her stomach sink. Of course they were. She’d invested so much time and love and energy into those two kids. Two kids that weren’t her own but that she cared about as though they were._

_“It’s…different.” was how Beca voiced her feelings on the matter, which was clearly the wrong thing to say._

_“It’s different.” Sarah echoed in a blank tone. “Different.” she repeated, as though mulling over her girlfriend’s poor choice of words. The redhead let out a sniff, pushing off from the fridge she’d been leant back on, “Well that’s decision enough for me.”_

_“Sarah that’s…that didn’t come out right.” Beca tried to explain as her girlfriend started to stride out of the kitchen, but the woman spun on the spot, glaring at her in the doorway._

_“Didn’t come out right?” she bellowed and Beca hesitated, “Didn’t come OUT right? Beca, it’s not difficult to say ‘I choose you’! It’s not difficult to say ‘I put you first’!”_

_“But it IS when I’m being asked to choose between my girlfriend of four years and my best friend of twenty years!” Beca barked back, a tear rolling down her own cheek as her heart broke. There’d once been a time when she’d marvelled at how accommodating Sarah had been when Beca had explained her close friendship with Chloe. How Beca deemed her role as Briar’s Godmother one of the most important roles in her life._

_“If you loved me enough this wouldn’t be such a struggle.” Sarah said in a tone that sounded final and it was the tone that surprised Beca more than the words used. The brunette sniffed loudly, wiping a tear that hung under her chin with the back of her hand._

_“I do love you.” she insisted in a small voice, “I wouldn’t have been with you for so long if I didn’t. I-I wouldn’t have invested so much time in your daughters if I didnt.”_

_“Then why haven’t you chosen us yet?” Sarah replied in a vulnerable voice, tears pooling at the base of her own chin. “You think it’s been easy to let you into my life? To let you into the girls lives? To spend all this time and love on you?” The woman paused to let out a sniff, “Beca I love you so much. But I know you don’t love me the same way. Not really.”_

_Beca didn’t know how else to prove to her girlfriend that she DID love her. But there was no way she was going to promise to talk to Chloe less. And she was certainly NOT going to talk to Briar less. Briar was one of the most important people in her life. As was Chloe._

_“And the fact you’ve not said anything in response means I’m right. You don’t love me as much as I love you.” Sarah said in a disappointed tone, and Beca shuffled her feet nervously._

_“I can’t walk away from Briar.” Beca replied quietly. Finally. With nothing left to say. Because it was true. She couldn’t step back from her duties as Briar’s Godmother._

_“Then I can’t keep this up.” Sarah said with a sniff when motioning in the space between them, clearing her throat while folding her arms over her chest, “I’m sorry it’s just…so long as Chloe and Briar come first in your life, me and the girls can’t be in it.” Tears slowly rolled down Beca’s cheeks again as she watched her girlfriend step to the side, motioning out the door of the kitchen. “You can pack up your things now.”_

_“What about the girls?” Beca choked out. Saying goodbye to them would be the hardest part of all of this._

_“You can still take them to the zoo next weekend.” Sarah said with a sniff, “But then that’s it.” she added firmly, and Beca’s stomach sank. That would be it._

Beca looked over at the door of the guest bedroom as she heard a light tapping on it and furrowed her brow. She knew Chloe was an early riser - it’d been the bane of her life when they’d lived together back in Brooklyn. But she hadn’t ever known Chloe to wake this early. Not even on Christmas Day.

“Come in.”

To her surprise, she watched as her Goddaughter poked her head around the door with a cautious smile. But the smile quickly spread into a grin when Beca’s smile immediately appeared.

“Merry Christmas Pickle.” Beca said in a quiet tone, not wanting to wake Chloe who she knew would still be asleep in her bedroom next door.

“Merry Christmas Auntie Beca.” The fourteen year old replied softly, closing the door over behind her.

Briar padded quietly over to the bed, perching on the edge while she appeared to be a little nervous about something. Beca watched her closely. She knew her Goddaughter almost as well as she knew herself sometimes. And she knew something was on Briar’s mind.

“You alright there buddy?” she asked with a small curious smile on her face. But the words the teen next said had Beca’s heart beating a little faster.

“I’ve been thinking about you and Mom and…how you guys went back to being friends so I could try and get my head around… _it_.”

“Oh uh…that’s alright, Pickle.” Beca replied kindly, but Briar shook her head quickly, raising her eyebrows.

“No it…” and the teen paused to let out a heavy sigh, her expression softening. “I can’t thank you enough for doing that. Most parents would just tell the kid to suck it up because it was happening whether they liked it or not. But you and Mom didn’t.” Beca smiled softly at her Goddaughter. She could see where Briar was going with this. She was going to thank them for sacrificing things between them for her. And while it broke Beca a little bit each time she thought about how much she missed being so physically close to Chloe, she appreciated still having the chance to be a key figure in her and Briar’s life. Even if it was in the same role she’d had before they’d shared that first kiss..

“You broke off your romance for me.” Briar continued, “You guys put my happiness before your own. And that really meant a lot to me.”

The room fell silent as Godmother and Goddaughter looked at one another in the peace and quiet of the early Christmas morning. But the fourteen year old hadn’t finished.

“I-I’ve been thinking hard over the past few days and…I think it’s time I put your happiness first for once.”

Beca’s smile slowly dropped to a look of mild confusion. What was Briar suggesting?

A smile began to grow on the girl’s face, “You make Mom so,  _so_ happy. And you make me happy too. Our home  _feels_  happier with you in it. And in a way it always has.”

Beca’s heart was hammering against her chest, her fingers going a bit numb and her palms sweating. She was taking in Briar’s words one at a time in her head while she looked at her Goddaughter, who was smiling softly at her.

“So my Christmas gift to you is my blessing. You and Mom…”

A smile slowly began growing on Beca’s face as she realised what this all meant, and Briar affectionately finished, “I honestly couldn’t ask for anyone better for her than you. Anyone better for  _us_  than you.”

—

Chloe stirred gently in her sleep, stretching in her large bed while her senses slowly woke. She let out a heavy sleeping sigh, staring up at her ceiling. On so many mornings back in the Fall she’d woken in this bed with Beca in her arms or vice-versa. Sometimes they were both clothed. Sometimes they were both naked. But every time they were blissfully happy.

And Chloe had been under the impression until a few days ago that this morning would be the first Christmas that she and Beca would wake up in bed together.  _Together_ -together. The first of many many many Christmasses they would spend together. For the rest of their life.

Tears began to build in the redhead’s eyes as she let out another heavy sigh. These past few days had been difficult. Not because going back to being ‘just best friends’ with Beca had been awkward. But because doing that had just been a big adjustment. Chloe couldn’t count the number of times she’d desperately wanted to hold Beca’s hand or cuddle up to her on the couch or kiss her on the lips. She’d just wanted to do all of that too much. But she understood she couldn’t. For Briar’s sake.

The redhead heard a bit of a clatter from the kitchen downstairs and furrowed her brow, swiping a tear from her eyes before slipping out of her large bed. As she left the room she paused. She could hear the faint sound of music playing and two people singing, coming from within the kitchen downstairs. And it sounded as though the door was closed over.

By the time Chloe had reached said door, she recognised the sound of ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ by Mariah Carey playing on the kitchen speaker while Beca and Briar sang along, giggling as they did so. The redhead gently pushed open the door and an affectionate smile spread across her face.

There her best friend stood - the love of her life who she sadly couldn’t be with - shaking her hips to the beat of the song while Briar cracked eggs into a bowl. This was the perfect scene Chloe had always dreamt of walking in on one day. The woman she loved and her daughter, cooking something together while they seemed to get on so happily. So wonderfully. And it was like a bittersweet moment. Because she and Beca would never be lovers the way they wanted to be.

But Chloe was used to this feeling. She was used to longing for Beca. At least she didn’t have to worry about Briar having to fight for Beca’s attention any more. That had always been a difficult thing for Chloe to get her head around when Beca had been dating Sarah.

_“I can’t stay for the whole weekend.” Beca said as she slipped her coat off to hang up on the coat stand by the door. “It’s Phoebe’s birthday tomorrow and I promised Sarah I’d be there.”_

_“Oh.” Chloe replied, her heart sinking at the words. She’d planned for the two of them to take Briar to a concert tomorrow night. It was one of Beca’s favourite things to do. And it was definitely Briar’s. “So..will you not be staying tonight?”_

_“I’ll stay tonight.” Beca confirmed, wandering through the house with Chloe to the kitchen, “I’ll just have to grab a flight back to LA mid-morning tomorrow. In time for Phoebe’s party early afternoon.”_

_Chloe watched her best friend carefully, her stomach knotting with jealousy that Beca’s lock-screen photo on her phone was no longer a photo of her and Briar but a photo of Beca, Sarah, Daisy and Phoebe looking so happy all together. It’d been two years since Beca had first started dating the redhead. And Chloe was impressed with how well Beca had settled into such a committed role as ‘another mother’ to another woman’s children. But it felt as though sometimes Briar was having to compete with Phoebe and Daisy for Beca’s attention. Particularly Daisy, who was also ten like Briar._

_Chloe watched as Beca let out a heavy sigh, her phone chiming and she appeared to read a message on the screen before another message chimed through. This was the first time in a while that she noticed Beca looking so tired. As though she wasn’t sleeping well at night._

_“Is everything okay?” Chloe asked cautiously, placing a hand on Beca’s shoulder while the brunette sat at the kitchen table and Beca let out another sigh._

_“Yeah.” she said in a less than convincing tone as she quickly texted something back then placed her phone down on the kitchen table, propping her head up on her hand while glancing up at Chloe, “I forgot to tell Sarah I was coming over here. She’s pretty mad with me because it’s so close to Phoebe’s party and I’ll be tired tomorrow.”_

_Chloe swallowed loudly. She couldn’t imagine why Beca’s girlfriend would get so annoyed. Beca always visited her and Briar towards the end of every month. She always had done._

_“But you always come here at least once a month.” Chloe said with a furrowed brow, stepping over to the coffee machine to prep a coffee for her best friend. And that’s when Beca’s next sentence had Chloe all confused._

_“Yeeeeeah..I don’t..exactly TELL her when I come here.”_

_Chloe looked over her shoulder, her brow still furrowed. But Beca had been coming here almost every month since BEFORE she and Sarah had begun dating! They’d been dating two years. And Beca HADN’T told her girlfriend? Why??_

_Before Chloe could ask, Beca’s shoulder’s slumped while her phone began to ring. She watched as the brunette picked her phone up and answered it in a forced light tone:_

_“Hey Sweets!” Chloe ‘busied’ herself making coffee while she noted how loudly Sarah was yelling down the phone, though the echoing around the kitchen made it difficult for her to work out what the woman was saying. All she had was Beca’s side of the conversation for confirmation._

_“Yeah I-I…yeah I know I should’ve told you sooner but…no, I’m NOT going to be late tomorrow…yeah I know I have to help you set things up, I’ve factored that in!…Since always! I always factor extra time in when I’m planning stuff…I DO!…No it’s just me and Chloe at the moment…Don’t…don’t say stuff like that, of course I love you…I dunno, I guess we’ll be picking her up from Ballet in a little while…yeah I know she has Ballet on a Friday, so what?…Oh come ON it’s because I talk to her!…You KNOW I talk to Daisy too…YES as much as I do Briar!”_

“Oh! Merry Christmas Chlo!” Beca said with a smile as she held a bag of flour in her hand while spotting the redhead in the doorway of the kitchen. Chloe smiled gently at her best friend then over at her daughter who also wished her a Merry Christmas. It may not be perfect in that she was romantically with Beca still. But it was perfect in that they were still all together at Christmas.


	10. Christmas Day - pt.2

****

The low sound of Michael Bublé’s Christmas album played quietly through the speaker in the corner of the lounge, serving as backing music for the ‘present opening’ part of Christmas morning. Beca, Chloe, and Briar were all full from the fruit pancakes they’d had for breakfast. Now they all sat in the same seats they’d sat in for most of the week: Briar on her usual couch, Chloe on  _her_  usual couch, and Beca on the armchair that once belonged to Chicago. Briar watched as her Godmother unwrapped a gift from her mother, the woman’s smile spreading across her face when she pulled out from within the festive paper a knitted sweater with a large letter ‘B’ on the front.

“Chlo, you made this??” Beca asked in a marvelled voice, holding the sweater up in front of her to admire the letter on the front of the garment. Briar saw the way her mother smiled affectionately at Beca’s eager expression.

“Yep.”

“But… _when_  did you find the time??” Beca asked, tugging the sweater over her head and pulling it down over her upper body. It looked brilliant. A little baggy, but just how Beca loved her winter sweaters.

“Well you haven’t been here between Monday evenings and Thursday evenings don’t forget. Plenty of time to knit.” Chloe explained, clearly thrilled that her homemade present looked so good on her best friend’s body.

The room fell silent save for Bublé’s dulset tones in the background and Briar watched as her mother and Godmother looked at one another with soft smiles on their faces. She felt a little awkward. They still hadn’t had a chat about how it was going to be okay for the two of them to start seeing each other romantically again. Briar and Beca had concocted a game plan of how best to tell Chloe. But it was in Briar’s hands when that game plan would be put in place.

“I’ve got a present for you, Mom. But I just need to get it, if that’s okay?”

Beca jumped as her Goddaughter spoke, and her heart began to beat a little faster when she realised this was it. This was the moment she’d been waiting for since Briar had given her her blessing to officially date her mother. Chloe nodded gently with a kind smile, her expression revealing that she was rather intrigued with what it might be.

The teen hopped up from her couch with a smile, and skipped out of the lounge, closing the door over behind her. This was all part of the plan. And even though they’d prepared and spoken through it all, Beca still felt nervous. Still felt excited. Still felt-

“I really miss you.”

Beca immediately drew her gaze over to Chloe and saw the woman perched vulnerably on the edge of the couch opposite her. Chloe’s bright blue eyes were looking over at her longingly and Beca’s heart felt as though it were smashing from her chest out to her best friend. The woman she loved.

“I miss you too.” Beca replied in an equally quiet and longing tone. Something that had tears building in Chloe’s eyes. Beca could see the Christmas lights reflecting in them. She wanted to pull Chloe into a tight hug. To tell her everything was going to be okay. That Briar was actually going to be alright with them being together. But Beca couldn’t tell Chloe that. It wasn’t part of Briar’s plan.

“I’m sorry Briar ended everything for us.” Chloe added, her tone still quiet and Beca scooched to the edge of the armchair she was sat on, fiddling slightly with the sleeves of her new sweater that were a little too long.

“Well she didn’t end  _everything_.” Beca replied with a soft smile, trying to sound optimistic, “We’re still best friends, right? I’m still here for Christmas.”

But the optimism clearly wasn’t enough for Chloe who let out a shaky sigh and whispered, “ _Yeah but I still miss the intimacy_.”

The room fell silent while Beca and Chloe looked into one another’s eyes. The sadness in Chloe’s had Beca’s body yearning to hold her best friend as they once had, and the brunette slowly rose to her feet to wander over to the woman she loved. Briar had given them this time on purpose, and Beca knew it. She’d just been asked one thing from Briar: to  _not_  tell Chloe about the teen’s change of heart. Briar wanted to be the one to tell her mother.

Beca stopped before Chloe, looking down at her with a soft expression and held her hands out towards her, palms up. Her heart raced as the woman looked up into her eyes, hesitation on her face. But Beca remained steadfast, knowing that Chloe would surely read her mind before long. And that moment quickly arrived.

Chloe took a small breath, reaching her hands up and allowing Beca to take them. As she slowly rose to her feet, her eyes flicked from Beca’s left eye to right eye and back again over and over. Questioning. Her heart thudding against her chest. Beca tugged Chloe’s hands gently while stepping back a couple of paces to guide them into the middle of the room. Then with a deep breath, Beca let go of her best friends hands, and gently slipped her arms around Chloe’s waist instead.

Chloe’s arms automatically slid around Beca’s neck, and as their chins rested on one another’s shoulders, the two best friends let out heavy shuddering sighs, their eyes flickering closed. They hadn’t stood like this much before. Before they’d got together, they would never hold a hug for this long. It would be a brief hug of hello whenever they were reunited or a brief hug of goodbye whenever they parted. Heck, even back in the days of living together in Brooklyn they never held one another for this long.

And they hadn’t ever had to hug like this during those few months they’d been secretly seeing one another. The affection they’d shared in private had been just enough to ensure that the longing to hold one another didn’t exist. The intimacy around the house when Briar was out, or the intimacy within Chloe’s bedroom, stored up the love in their hearts to carry them through the days that they were apart.

Beca felt Chloe tuck her face further into her neck, and the woman’s warm breath gently washing over her skin drew goosebumps to the surface. After a moment or two, Beca gently began to sway their body’s left to right, remaining on the same spot, tucking her own face into Chloe’s neck with a sigh. ‘ _Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas_ ’ played quietly in the background. And Beca thought about how many times she’d wanted to do this with Chloe over the years they’d known each other. How many times she’d wanted to hold Chloe and to dance with her gently wherever they were.

_“Have you and Mom ever danced together?”_

_Beca pulled her nightgown from the wardrobe and looked over at her Goddaughter with a smile, “Did we forget to tell you we were in an acapella group together in college?”_

_The fourteen year old rolled her eyes, a motion that Beca recognised as something Briar must have picked up from her. The redhead rose her eyebrows seriously:_

_“You know that’s not what I meant.”_

_And Beca chuckled, slipping her arms into her dressing gown, “Yeah, I know Pickle.” then she let out a light sigh, shrugging gently, “If you mean slow-dancing then no, we’ve never slow danced before.”_

_“You should slow dance with her later. During present opening time. I’ll give you guys the privacy. I’ll pretend to get Mom’s present from my room or something.”_

_A smile slowly grew on Beca’s face as she looked at the teen’s kind expression. She was still in a state of shock that Briar had just given her her blessing to resume dating Chloe again - after a few day hiatus._

_“Okay.” Beca agreed with a nod, moving towards her Goddaughter and spinning her by the shoulders to face the bedroom door, “But first..pancakes.”_

Beca raised her lips to Chloe’s ear while she began guiding her around on the spot, their hips swaying slowly to the Michael Bublé song playing in the background, and in a low voice she whispered, “ _I love you_.” To her surprise, she felt the woman’s body quake slightly in her arms, and Chloe let out a small sob, tucking her face further into Beca’s neck.

Chloe had become so overwhelmed by this intimate moment and how unfair the situation between them still was, she had begun to quietly cry while slow-dancing with Beca in the middle of the room. Their bodies aligned perfectly. Their hearts beating as one. But as far as Chloe was aware, she and Beca still weren’t allowed to be a couple. Her daughter just wasn’t happy with it. And she wanted her daughter to be happy, even if it meant sacrificing her own.

“I love you too.” Chloe blubbed, muffled by Beca’s long brown hair, her arms tightening around her best friend’s body.

Beca opened her eyes and caught sight of her Goddaughter stood in the doorway, looking over at them with a guilty expression. But the brunette brought one hand from Chloe’s waist and gave Briar a thumbs up. A small smile poked into the corners of Briar’s face.

“Um, Mom?”

Chloe practically threw herself out of Beca’s arms, straightening herself up while clearing her throat awkwardly, “We uh…” Chloe began, clearly worried that her daughter had caught them, “…we weren’t doing anything!” she said quickly in a panicked tone, sniffing loudly and wiping the tears that had rolled down her cheeks, not daring to look over at Beca.

“Your present’s out in the hallway. I just need you to close your eyes.” Briar instructed, trying to keep her excitement at bay. Chloe appeared to hesitate, then with a deep breath closed her eyes. The teen looked to her Godmother with a smile, “Aunt Beca, are you okay to lead her through?”

Beca smiled, reaching over to her best friend and taking Chloe’s hand, loving the coy smile that grew on the woman’s face. She had no idea what Briar had in store, but she had a feeling it was all leading to the big reveal. She couldn’t wait to see Chloe’s face the moment she found out they could finally be together. Officially.

Briar led the way, out of the lounge and through to the middle of the hallway. Beca followed, her brow furrowed slightly while she carefully guided her best friend out of the room with her. There her eyes spotted the present, and her smile broadened as Briar looked over her shoulder at her with a huge grin on her face.

Chloe had absolutely no idea what this present could possibly be. Her heart was hammering heavy against her chest and the only thing keeping her from bursting into tears was the feel of Beca’s hand tightly held onto hers. She couldn’t believe her daughter was allowing them to hold hands at this present moment in time.

Suddenly they came to a stop without any instruction from the fourteen year old and Chloe found her breathing increasing slightly as she realised Beca still held her hand.

“Okay, you can open your eyes.” Briar said in a confident tone, and Chloe’s eyes shot open, eager to see what her present might be. But to her confusion, she saw that the only ‘thing’ stood a couple of foot before her, was her daughter. Her daughter who was beaming at her, looking far calmer and happier than she’d looked in a long time.

“Wh…what’s happening?” Chloe asked nervously, turning to glance at her best friend beside her who  _still_  held her hand, and was currently smiling  _affectionately_  at her. Chloe was so confused. Until Briar answered her question:

“Look up, Mom.”

Chloe looked at the ceiling above her, and her heart jumped into her throat. There, stuck up with tape, was a beautiful bunch of mistletoe. A bunch of mistletoe that she and Beca were stood under.

“Wh-?” Chloe began, looking from the foliage over to her daughter who still smiled happily at her.

“I’m sorry I upset you earlier this week. I was just… _confused_ , I guess. So much has changed in our lives these past couple of years and I was worried that more change would happen if you and Aunt Beca became an official thing. Bad change.”

Chloe’s heart was racing away, her breathing short and shallow while her hand still clung to Beca’s. Was…was Briar about to give them the ‘okay’?

“But I’ve seen how happy she makes you. How happy she makes both of us. And I remember how she’s always been the most stable and continuous presence in our lives. The one who’s always been here for us no matter what. Who had always loved you unconditionally.”

Beca could feel tears welling up in her eyes while her Goddaughter complimented the crap out of her. Briar’s eyes remained on her mother and only her mother, proving just how important these words were to her.

“She’s always cared for me and protected me and loved me as if I were her daughter. And I’ve always cared about her and loved her as if she was another mother to me.”

Briar had no idea how she was verbalising all the thoughts that had been swimming around her head overnight. But she was managing it. And from the looks of the tears in Beca and Chloe’s eyes, and the smiles on their faces, she wasn’t doing a terrible job.

“So this is my present to you, Mom. I’m sorry I was such a teenager.”

Chloe and Beca both let out a light chuckle, Beca squeezing Chloe’s hand affectionately.

“I couldn’t think of anyone better for you to spend the rest of your life with than Aunt Beca.” Briar added, feeling herself reaching the end of her little speech, “You guys really do make the perfect couple. And there’s no way I’ll stand in the way of your happiness again.”

Chloe let out a heavy, shaky breath, her smile broadening as her daughter finished speaking. Briar just smiled softly at her.

“Chlo.” Beca said in a quiet voice, and Chloe turned to look at her best friend, her smile growing the second she saw Beca gazing up at her with such hope and happiness, “She’s happy for us to be together.”

_Chloe stirred in her sleep, bringing her hand up to rub her nose with her palm. And a sleepy smile swept onto her face as she felt soft fingertips trickle their way up and down her bare arm. Her eyes fluttered open, and her heart skipped a beat._

_There, laid naked beside her, with her head propped up on her hand, was Beca. Beca who was looking down at Chloe with such love and affection and adoration. Chloe had never known anyone to ever look at her in that way before. And it filled her with so much hope. Hope for a far happier future now she and Beca were finally together - twenty years after first meeting back at Barden._

_“Good morning.” Beca mumbled with a smile and Chloe let out a content sigh, shifting her legs slightly beneath the light bedcovers of Beca’s hotel bed._

_“Good morning.” she replied, her hand skimming across her best friend’s bare hip, and they both let out giddy chuckles. This had all happened so quickly. The two of them getting together. Romantically. But then, everything felt so natural that it didn’t cross either of Beca or Chloe’s minds to question whether it was the right or wrong thing to do. It just felt right._

_“Last night was…” Beca began and she paused to let out another brief huff of a chuckle, looking down at Chloe’s bare abdomen while her eyebrows rose, her mind clearly flickering back to their ‘first time’ last night, and Chloe echoed the chuckle._

_“Yeah.” she agreed with a smile, “Yeah it was.”_

_Their eyes met again and Chloe watched as Beca’s chest heaved for a moment, a heavy sigh leaving the brunette’s mouth while she smiled affectionately. As though all her dreams had come true. And Chloe’s fingertips slowly ran up Beca’s naked body from her hip, all the way up to the curve of the woman’s right breast, over her nipple and up to her collarbone, and as Chloe’s fingertips met Beca’s jaw, the brunette adjusted her face so she could place a soft kiss on Chloe’s palm._

_“Come here.” Chloe whispered, her hand slipping to the back of Beca’s neck. And Beca allowed her face to be guided down to Chloe’s lips. Their kiss was gentle and secure. Beca’s hand swept around Chloe’s bare waist and their naked bodies rested comfortably against one another. As the kiss broke, Beca nudged the tip of her nose affectionately up and down the bridge of Chloe’s, before pausing to look deep into the redhead’s bright blue eyes._

_“You’re sure you’re okay with all this?” she checked in a cautious tone, a fleeting moment of concern flickering across her face. But Chloe had never been more okay with anything in her life. Beca meant the world to her. So her smile continued to remain true on her face while she affectionately drifted her thumb over Beca’s cheek._

_“I love you.” Chloe replied, and she saw the way a smile immediately shot onto Beca’s face._

_“Yeah?”_

_“Yeah!” Chloe confirmed with a giggle and a chuckle fell from Beca’s mouth as her own hand reached up to gently cup Chloe’s cheek._

_“Good.” Beca whispered, her nose nudging the tip of Chloe’s again, “Cause I love you too.” And Chloe tugged her bottom lip between her teeth while butterflies raced around her stomach. Her heart swelled. Hearing the woman she loved declare her feelings out loud had Chloe falling harder and harder in love with her. And she felt certain nothing would ever feel as good as this moment. Nothing._

_Just as their lips met again, with a firmer deeper kiss, a knocking sounded on Beca’s hotel door, and the two women snapped apart as Briar’s voice could be heard outside: “Hey, Aunt Beca? Any idea where Mom is? She’s not answering her door.”_

_“Shhhhhhhit.” Chloe whispered while Beca rolled off her body, and the two women leapt out of bed. Chloe dove for her clothes that were strewn across the room after they’d been discarded last night._

_“Uh, just a minute.” Beca called out, grabbing her pyjamas from the top draw of her hotel room draws and hastily got into them while Chloe picked her final piece of clothing up - her bra which had been thrown under the chair in the corner of the room - and bundled it with the rest of her clothes in her arms._

_“I’ll see you in a sec.” Chloe whispered with a smile, quickly darting over to Beca and placing a chaste kiss on her lips before racing over to the door that connected their two hotel rooms._

_Just as Chloe closed the door behind her, her chest heaving with nerves and adrenaline and excitement, she heard her best friend opening the door of her own hotel room, casually greeting Briar whose hotel room stood opposite. And the redhead let out a heavy sigh, her eyes fluttering closed while a smile swept across her face. She needed to get into some pyjamas and fast. Her daughter would soon be knocking at her hotel door again._

“She’s right.” Briar confirmed, watching as her mother turned back to her with a look of joy and disbelief, “I  _am_  happy for the two of you to be together. So…hence the mistletoe.” The teen motioned to the mistletoe then swung her arms down to her sides and watched as her mother turned her body to face her Godmother. Their hands had parted. But their eyes now locked while they stood with smiles on their faces. “I’ll give you guys some privacy.” Briar added in a quiet tone, then walked away, hovering in the lounge doorway, peeking around the corner to hear what the two women might say to each other now they had their whole future before them. Finally together for good.

Beca’s heart hammered away, unable to allow her smile to fade as she looked into Chloe’s bright blue eyes. And she noted the tear rolling down the woman’s cheek. “Oh babe…” Beca mumbled affectionately, her hand moving up to cup Chloe’s cheek and she smoothed her thumb across the tear.

“I-I’m okay.” Chloe insisted with a broad smile, sniffing sharply as she took a step closer to Beca, wrapping her arms around her best friend’s waist, “I’m just so happy. That’s all.” Their foreheads came together and their eyes fluttered closed, as though relishing this moment. A moment in which they could  _finally_  be together without having to hide.

“ _I love you so much._ ” Chloe whispered and their lips quickly met at such a rate that a notable ‘clonk’ could be heard of their heads bashing together. But neither woman cared as they kissed passionately beneath the mistletoe. Their hands snaking around each other’s bodies to hold one another tight.

Briar scrunched her nose up a little. It was still a little weird. But technically, as far as her mother and Godmother were aware, she wasn’t watching. So the teen stepped fully into the lounge and over to the speaker system, changing the track, as planned.

_“Do you guys have a song?” Briar whispered, her mother having left the dinner table to begin arranging the Christmas presents in the lounge. That was another tradition of theirs. Everyone had their own pile of presents to open._

_“A song?”_

_“Yeah a song. You know…” Briar pauses rolling her hand slightly as her Godmother paused her loading of the dishwasher to look at her blankly. Briar let out a sigh and rolled her eyes, “A song that you play that reminds you of Mom and a song that she plays that reminds her of you. Your song.”_

_She watched as Beca stood up tall, a small smile growing on her face, “Dolly Parton - Here I Am”._

_“D-Dolly Parton?” Briar asked, wondering if her Godmother was just teasing her. But Beca didn’t change her expression, and after a brief moment the teen realised she wasn’t joking._

_“I played it to your Mom when we were back in college.[When she was really upset because your Great Grandad had died](https://asweetmelodytrickling.tumblr.com/post/181151918543/hey-hope-pregnancy-is-treating-you-well-if-your). We’ve played it for each other ever since.”_

Briar heard the opening line sung by Dolly Parton, and smiled gently. A song that described one person being there for another. Wholly and truly forever.

The kiss between Beca and Chloe came to a natural end and both let out sighs of contentment, their eyes fluttering open to drink in the sight of the other’s swollen lips, tearstained cheeks, and broad smiles.

“This is our song.” Chloe mumbled, keeping her arms tight around Beca’s waist and the brunette grinned with a nod. “Did you plan this?”

“The song bit I planned. But this was all Briar’s idea. The mistletoe and telling you herself.” Beca’s thumb still traced gently over Chloe’s cheek with such delicacy it were as though she feared that the redhead would break, “She told me this morning that she was going to be okay about us being together. She’s put a lot of thought into it.”

Briar peered around the doorway again, her heart racing fast. This was it. The final part of their plan was about to happen. And a grin spread across her face.

_“Would you be okay if I proposed to your Mom?”_

_A smile grew on Briar’s face as her Godmother looked at her nervously. They’d just decided to play the Dolly Parton song in the moment that Beca would finally get to kiss Chloe. The plan was coming together beautifully. “I-I know it’ll seem really rushed but…I do really love her, Pickle. And I know she loves me to. And we both love you SO much. It feels like the natural step to take, you know?”_

_Briar watched in delight as Beca awkwardly pulled a small box from her pyjamas pocket and held it out for the teen to take. The fourteen year old’s eyes opened wide at the sight of the beautiful engagement ring that twinkled brightly thanks to the kitchen lights._

_“I bought it a few weeks ago hoping you’d be okay with me and your Mom getting together. Then you uh…didn’t really like the idea so I worried that I’d never be able to ask her. But now you’re kinda okay with the idea would…would it be okay if I asked her?”_

_Briar looked up from the ring and felt a little overwhelmed that her Godmother was asking her permission. “Definitely.” she replied, and watched in delight as Beca let out a sigh of relief while a smile washed over her face._

_“She’d be so so happy.” Briar added, snapping the ring box closed and passing it back to her Godmother just as Chloe began wandering back into the kitchen, completely oblivious to all that was about to change in her life. For the better._


End file.
